.^Xi^ToT^SS^ 


^^?<>t06!CAL  SE^^'S^ 


BX9225.M213  S7  1864 
Sprague,  William  Buell,  1795-1876. 
Memoirs  of  the  Rev.  John  McDowell,  D.E 
and  Ihe  Rev.  William  A.  McDowell,  D.D. 


',7??/  _P//iy'*' 


^'^^^  ^.^^^ky^^l^^-^c^^ti^^ele^ 


MEMOIRS 


OF    THE 


REV.  JOHN  McDowell,  d.  d., 


AND    THE 


KEV.  WILLIAM  A.  McDOWELL,  D.  D. 


V^ 

BY  WILLIAM  B.  SPRAGUE,  D.  D., 

OF   ALBANY. 


NEW  YORK: 

ROBERT  CARTER  &  BROTHERS. 

1864. 


Entered  according  to  an  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  sixty -four,  by 

ROBERT  CARTER  &   BROTHERS, 

In  the  Clerk's  OflBce  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Southern 
District  of  New  York. 


CONTENTS. 


-♦♦- 


MEMOIR  OP  THE  REV.  JOHN  McDOWELL,  D.  D. 

Preface, iv 

CHAPTER  I. 
From  his  Birth  to  his  Settlement  at  Elizabethtown,  . ...         1 

CHAPTER  n. 
His  Ministry  at  Elizabethtown, 13 

CHAPTER  ni. 
His  Ministry  in  Connection  with  the  Central  Church, 
Philadelphia,  109 

CHAPTER  IV. 

From  his  Leaving  the  Central  Church  till  his  Death,  , .     128 

CHAPTER  V. 

Summary  of  the  Extraordinary  Results  of  his  Ministry, 

AND  how  they  have  BEEN  ATTAINED, 165 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Commemorative  Letters, 189 


IV  CONTENTS.  ^ 

MEMOIR  OF  THE  REV.  WILLIAM  A.  McDOWELL, 

D.  D. 

CHAPTER  I. 
His  Life, 263 

CHAPTER   II. 
His  Character, 286 

CHAPTER  III. 
Commemorative  Letters, 294 


PREFACE. 


The  basis  of  this  Memoir  of  Dr.  John  McDowell 
is  an  account  of  the  leading  events  of  his  life, 
which  I  committed  to  paper,  as  he  communicated 
it  to  me,  in  June,  1852,  and  which  he  reproduced 
substantially,  in  the  form  of  a  Semi-Centennary 
Discourse,  at  the  close  of  1854.  The  filling  up 
of  the  outline  is  partly  from  my  own  recollec- 
tions ;  partly  from  information  furnished  by  his 
friends,  especially  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Rice ;  partly 
from  a  diary  covering  the  period  of  his  theologi- 
cal education,  and  his  first  two  years  in  the 
ministry ;  but  chiefly  from  a  vast  number  of  his 
letters,  ranging  from  youth  to  old  age,  which,  of 
themselves,  supply  the  material  for  nearly  a 
continuous  history  of  his  life.  Of  these  letters  I 
have  made  liberal  use,  as  forming  at  once  the 


VI  PREFACE. 


most  authentic  account  of  his  Labours,  and  the 
most  striking  portraiture  of  his  character. 

The  letters  of  personal  recollections  from  his 
friends  are  introduced  without  any  reference  to 
the  fact  that  they  necessarily  include  consider- 
able repetition.  But  as  each  friend  has  described 
him  in  his  own  way,  and  as  each  has  written  out 
of  the  fulness  of  an  affectionate  remembrance,  it 
is  presumed  that  any  uniformity  necessarily  in- 
cident to  a  description  of  the  same  subject,  will 
be  more  than  compensated  by  the  fine  genial 
tone  and  excellent  taste,  by  which  the  letters 
are  pervaded. 

It  was  not  originally  intended  to  include  in 
this  volume  more  than  the  Memoir  of  Dr.  John 
McDowell ;  but,  as  I  proceeded  with  that  part  of 
my  work,  I  found  that  himself  and  his  brother, 
Dr.  William  A.  McDowell,  had  so  much  in  com- 
mon, and  were  so  intertwined  in  affection,  pur- 
pose, and  life,  that  it  seemed  due  to  the  memory 
of  both,  that  each  should  be  represented  in  the 
same  volume.  I  ventured  to  make  the  sugges- 
tion to  those  more  immediately  concerned,  and, 
as   it  met  from  both   families  a  favourable    re- 


PREFACE.  VU 

sponse,  I  have  carried  out  my  idea  as  well  as  I 
could.  As  the  time  for  writing  the  Memoir  of 
the  younger  brother  was  necessarily  limited,  and 
the  material  within  my  reach  was  by  no  means 
ample,  I  have  been  able  to  go  less  into  the  details 
of  his  history  than  I  could  have  wished ;  but  I 
trust  I  have  succeeded  in  embodying  the  more 
important  facts  of  his  life,  and  the  more  distinc- 
tive lineaments  of  his  beautiful  character.  If  this 
volume  shall  be  instrumental,  even  in  a  humble 
degree,  of  perpetuating  the  memory,  and  deepen- 
ing the  posthumous  influence,  of  these  two 
brothers  by  blood,  brothers  in  Christ,  and 
brothers  in  the  ministry,  whom  the  whole  Church 
delights  tcJ  honour,  I  can  ask  no  more.. 


M  E  M  O  I  R 


OF    THE 


Rev.  JOHN  McDOWELL,  D.  D. 


MEMOIR 

OF    THE 

Rev.  JOH^  McDOWELL,  D.  D. 


CHAPTER  I. 

From  his  Birth  to  his  Settlement  at  Elizabethtown. 

What  I  propose,  in  undertaking  this  Memoir,  is  to 
present  the  subject  of  it,  as  far  as  I  can,  just  as  he  was, 
in  respect  to  the  leading  acts  and  events  of  his  life,  and 
the  more  distinctive  features  of  his  character.  If  any, 
in  reading  what  I  am  to  write,  expect  to  be  amused  or 
dazzled  by  eccentric  or  brilliant  characteristics,  I  give 
them  notice,  here  at  the  beginning,  that  they  have 
taken  up  the  wrong  book ;  whereas,  on  the  other  hand, 
if  I  do  not  trace  the  career  of  one  of  the  most  judi- 
cious, conscientious,  laborious  and  successful  ministers 
of  the  age,  I  shall  have  failed  in  the  work  to  which  I 
am  about  to  address  myself. 
1 


John  McDowell  was  born  in  the  town  of  Bedmin- 
ster,  Somerset  County,  N.  J.,  on  the  10th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1*180.  He  was  a  son  of  Matthew  and  Elizabeth 
(Anderson)  McDowell,  both  of  whom  were  born  in 
America,  though  the  parents  of  each  had  emigrated 
hither  from  the  North  of  Ireland.  Their  ancestors 
were  originally  from  Scotland,  and  are  believed  to  have 
been  among  the  numerous  Presbyterians  who  passed 
over  to  Ireland,  sometime  between  the  years  1660  and 
1670,  in  order  to  escape  the  operation  of  the  oppressive 
Act  of  Uniformity,  in  the  reign  of  Charles  the  Second. 
His  ancestry,  as  far  back  as  he  could  trace  them,  were 
exemplary  professors  of  the  Christian  faith. 

His  parents  dedicated  him  to  God  in  the  ordinance 
of  Baptism,  in  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Lamington, 
of  which  they  were  exemplary  members  :  and  they  were 
careful  to  redeem  the  baptismal  pledge  by  training 
him  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord. 
He  was  especially  taught  to  regard  the  Sabbath  with 
the  utmost  reverence  ;  and,  after  the  public  services  of 
the  day,  the  parents  were  accustomed  regularly  to 
catechise  their  children,  hear  them  repeat  texts  of 
Scripture  and  give  an  account  of  the  sermons  which 
they  had  heard,  and  by  their  own  faithful  and  seasona- 
ble instructions,  to  endeavour  to  impress  Divine  truth. 


upon  their  minds  and  hearts.  Under  this  careful  Chris- 
tian nurture,  and  especially  through  the  unremitting 
efforts  of  his  excellent  mother,  he  had  the  whole  of  the 
Assembly's  Catechism  lodged  in  his  memory,  at  the  age 
of  five  years,  and  before  he  had  learned  to  read. 

When  he  had  reached  the  age  of  eleven,  he  became 
deeply  concerned  in  respect  to  his  immortal  interests, 
and  the  great  question, — "What  he  should  do  to  be 
saved,  pressed  upon  him  with  overwhelming  urgency. 
At  length,  after  a  somewhat  protracted  season  of  anxi- 
ety and  distress,  he  was  enabled,  as  he  believed,  to 
accept  of  an  offered  salvation,  and  thus  to  find  rest  to 
his  soul ;  though  his  mind  seems,  for  years  afterwards, 
to  have  been  often  subject  to  doubt  and  perplexity,  on 
account  of  the  languor  of  his  religious  affsctions,  and 
the  frequent  failure  of  his  good  resolutions. 

From  the  time  that  he  first  indulged  the  hope  that 
he  had  become  the  subject  of  renewing  grace,  he  felt  a 
strong  desire 'to  devote  himself  to  the  ministry  of  the 
Gospel.  But  the  practicability  of  this  seemed  at  least 
doubtful ;  for  there  was  no  classical  school  in  the 
neighbourhood,  and  his  father  was  unwilling  to  incur  the 
expense  of  sending  him  away  from  home.  Accord- 
ingly, he  continued  to  work  upon  his  father's  farm  for 
the  four  following  years  ;  but,  at  the   age  of  fifteen,  a 


classical  school  having  been  established  by  the  Rev. 
William  Boyd,  within  two  miles  of  his  father's  resi- 
dence, he  was  allowed  to  become  a  member  of  it. 
Here  he  continued  diligently  engaged  in  his  studies  for 
about  three  years,  (though  his  studies  were  consid- 
erably interrupted  by  labours  on  the  farm),  when  he 
was  fitted  to  enter  College  at  an  advanced  standing. 
The  school  closed  shortly  after  he  left  it ;  and  he  was 
always  accustomed  to  recognize  in  the  period  of  its 
establishment  and  its  continuance,  a  signal  token  of 
the  Divine  favour,  having  an  important  bearing  upon 
his  whole  future  life. 

In  the  fall  of  1^99,  he  entered  the  Junior  class  in 
Princeton  College,  then  under  the  Presidency  of  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Samuel  Stanhope  Smith,  who  was  regarded  as  one 
of  the  brightest  lights  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  At 
this  period,  most  of  our  colleges  were,  in  a  greater  or 
less  degree,  in  sympathy  with  the  Infidelity  of  Revo- 
lutionary France  ;  and  so  deeply  did  the  College  of 
New  Jersey  share  in  this  calamity  that  the  majority  of 
the  students  were  avowed  infidels,  and  open  scoffers  at 
all  religion,  while  the  number  of  those  who  made  any 
pretensions  to  piety  was  exceedingly  small.  But,  not- 
withstanding he  had  not  yet  made  a  public  profession  of 
his  faith,  he  seems  to  have  encountered  successfully  the 


manifold  temptations  to  which  he  was  subjected,  and 
held  fast  his  integrity  as  a  Christian  throughout  his 
whole  college  course.  He  graduated  with  honour  in 
September,  1801. 

After  his  graduation,  he  engaged  as  a  teacher,  in 
Sussex  county,  for  six  months  ;  though,  as  he  had  the 
children  of  two  families  only  under  his  care,  he  was 
able,  at  the  same  time,  to  prosecute  his  own  studies. 
He  commenced  the  study  of  Theology  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Rev.  H.  W.  Hunt,  of  Newton,  N.  J.  ;  but, 
in  the  spring  of  1802,  he  went  to  study  under  Dr. 
Woodhull  at  Freehold,  who  was,  at  that  time,  well 
known  as  a  teacher  of  Theology.  He  had  his  home  in 
Dr.  Woodhull's  family,  and  came  into  the  most  inti- 
mate relations  with  him,  which  continued  as  long  as 
they  both  lived. 

It  was  not  till  he  had  been  at  Freehold  several 
months,  and  had  been  engaged  in  the  study  of  The- 
ology, more  or  less,  for  nearly  a  year,  that  he  first  made 
a  public  profession  of  religion — of  the  reason  of  this  long 
delay, — a  period  of  about  eleven  years  from  the  time  of 
his  hopeful  conversion,  I  find  no  intimation  in  any 
memoranda  that  he  has  left,  beyond  an  incidental  ref- 
erence to  the  fact  that  the  world  had  had  an  undue 
control  over  him.     He  was  received  to  the  communioa 


of  Dr.  Woodhull's  cliurcli  in  September,  1802  ;  and  his 
recorded  reflections  on  the  occasion,  though  brief,  sho"^'" 
that  he  received  the  ordinance  with  great  humility,  and 
was  deeply  impressed  with  a  selise  of  the  obligations 
which  he  then,  for  the  first  time,  publicly  recognized. 
Mr.  McDowell  continued  his  studies  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Dr.  Wood  hull  for  about  two  years.  He  placed 
himself  under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  New  Bruns- 
wick within  a  few  weeks  after  he  became  a  communi- 
cant in  the  church  ;  and  his  examinations  and  trials 
were,  from  time  to  time,  sustained,  until  the  25th  of 
April,  1804,  when,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  at 
Basking  Ridge,  he  was  licensed  to  preach  the  Gospel. 
The  time  of  his  sojourn  with  Dr.  Woodhull  seems  to 
have  passed  very  pleasantly  as  well  as  very  profitably. 
He  lived  with  him  as  a  son  with  a  father,  not  only 
receiving  from  him  daily  theological  instruction,  but 
gathering  from  his  large  experience  and  mature  wis- 
dom many  maxims  and  principles  of  conduct,  which 
had  much  influence  on  his  subsequent  life.  While  he 
was  a  most  diligent  student,  he  was  very  careful  in  the 
keeping  of  his  own  heart,  and  the  culture  of  all  the 
Christian  graces,  and  especially  of  a  habit  of  devotion. 
He  availed  himself  of  the  opportunity  of  attending,  and 
taking  part  in,  the  weekly  religious  meetings,  known 


as  "  Societies,"  "within  the  limits  of  Dr.  Woodhull's 
coDgregation  ;  and  whenever  the  pulpit  was  rendered 
vacant,  either  by  the  Doctor's  ill  health  or  absence 
from  home,  he  uniformly  took  his  place,  by  reading  a 
sermon  to  the  people  and  offering  at  least  one  of  the 
prayers.  He  does  not  seem  to  have  allowed  himself 
much  time  for  relaxation,  and  yet  he  sometimes  went  a 
hunting,  and  on  one  occasion  went  with  a  party,  in  pur- 
suit of  a  panther,  as  they  supposed  ;  but  if  the  crea- 
ture had  any  other  existence  than  in  the  imaginations 
of  his  hunters,  he  was  shrewd  enough  to  keep  out  of 
their  way.  In  one  or  two  instances,  he  joined  in  the 
innocent  sports  of  the  young  people  into  whose  com- 
pany he  was  thrown  ;  but  he  seems,  upon  reflection  to 
have  regarded  it  as  a  matter  of  at  least  questionable 
propriety,  especially  in  consideration  of  its  being  known 
that  he  was  preparing  for  the  ministry.  Both  in  a 
religious  and  a  social  point  of  view,  he  commended 
himself  strongly  to  the  people  among  whom  he  lived, 
while  he,  in  turn,  contracted  among  them  many  strong 
and  enduring  friendships. 

Mr.  McDowell  preached  his  first  sermon  at  Kings- 
ton, in  the  neighbourhood  of  Princeton,  in  the  pulpit 
of  the  Rev.  David  Comfort ;  and  was  not  a  little 
encouraged   by  the    favour    with   which    his    services 


8 

were  received.  The  Sabbath  following  he  preached 
at  Lamington,  to  the  congregation  among  whom  he  had 
spent  all  his  early  years  ;  but,  instead  of  being  embar- 
rassed from  his  near  relation  to  them,  he  accounted  it 
a  high  privilege  that  he  was  permitted  to  proclaim  to 
them  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ.  Having 
preached,  for  several  Sabbaths,  in  neighbouring  congre- 
gations, by  request  of  their  Pastors,  he  spent  a  month, 
by  appointment  of  Presbytery,  preaching  to  vacant 
congregations  and  in  destitute  places,  in  the  Northern 
part  of  New  Jersey,  and  the  adjoining  parts  of  North- 
ampton county.  Pa. 

The  Presbyterian  church  of  Elizabethtown,  N.  J., 
was  now  vacant, — their  late  Pastor,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Henry 
Kollock,  one  of  the  most  eloquent  preachers  of  his  day, 
and  afterwards  brother-in-law  to  Mr.  McDowell,  having 
been  called  to  occupy  the  place  both  of  Pastor  and  of 
Professor  at  Princeton.  After  his  removal  in  1803,  the 
congregation  fell  into  a  distracted  state,  in  consequence 
of  a  visit  from  the  Rev.  David  Austin,  who  had  j^rece- 
ded  Dr.  Kollock  as  their  Pastor,  and  had  closed  his 
ministry  there  under  very  peculiar  and  adverse  circum- 
stances. From  the  time  of  his  accession  to  the  Pastor- 
ship of  that  church,  in  September,  1788,  till  about  the 
close  of  1795,'  he  was  one  of  the  most  honoured  and 


useful  ministers  in  the  whole  region.  About  that  time, 
he  not  only  adopted  the  doctrine  of  Christ's  personal 
appearance  and  reign  on  earth,  which  is  accepted  by- 
many  at  the  present  day,  but  went  so  far  as  to  fix  the 
very  day,  (the  fourth  Sabbath  of  May,  1796,)  in  which 
the  glorious  descent  should  be  made.  When  the  day 
came  and  passed  without  any  unusual  occurrence,  his 
friends  hoped  that  the  disappointment  would  dissipate 
the  delusion  ;  but,  instead  of  that,  he  readily  found 
reasons  for  his  Lord's  delaying  his  coming,  and  became 
more  enthusiastic  in  his  adherence  to  his  favourite  the- 
ory than  ever.  Not  a  small  number,  both  in  his  own 
congregation  and  the  surrounding  country,  adopted  his 
views,  and  were  waiting  in  full  expectation  of  seeing 
the  heavens  open  and  the  Son  of  Man  descend.  In  this 
state  of  things,  the  Presbytery,  by  request  of  a  major- 
ity of  the  congregation,  interposed  and  dissolved  the 
pastoral  relation  ;  whereupon  Mr.  Austin  returned  to 
his  native  State,— Connecticut. 

After  the  congregation  became  vacant  by  the  removal 
of  Dr.  Kollock  to  Princeton,  Mr.  Austin  returned  to 
visit  his  former  charge,  and  be(;ame  engaged,  in  compli- 
ance with  the  expressed  wish  of  a  majority  of  the  peo- 
ple, to  preach  for  them  three  months.  At  the  end 
of  that  time,  a  vigorous  effort  was  made  to  continue 


10 

his  services;  but  it  was  decided,  at  a  large  congrega- 
tional meeting,  by  a  majority  of  one  vote,  not  to  renew 
the  engagement.  Those  who  wished  to  retain  him,  then 
withdrew  in  a  body,  and  hired  the  Methodist  church 
for  Sabbath  afternoons  and  evenings,  and  engaged  Mr. 
Austin  to  preach  for  them  six  months. 

Such  was  the  state  of  things  when  Mr.  McDowell  first 
went  to  Elizabethtown.  He  had  received  an  invitation 
to  visit  the  North  Dutch  church  in  Albany,  then  vacant 
by  the  removal  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Johnson  ;  and  he  wa8 
actually  travelling  on  horseback,  on  his  way  thither. 
The  Sabbath  before  he  set  out  on  his  journey,  he 
preached  at  Bedminster,  where  some  one  told  him, 
during  the  interval  of  public  service,  that  he  had 
learned,  from  one  of  the  elders  of  the  church  at  Eliza- 
bethtown, that  he  was  expected  to  preach  there  on  the 
succeeding  Sabbath.  Notwithstanding  this  information 
was  positively  false,  it  gave  a  complexion  to  the  whole 
of  his  future  life.  He  immediately  resolved  to  take 
Elizabethtown  on  his  way  to  Albany,  and,  if  he  were 
invited  to  preach,  to  remain  there  over  the  next  Sab- 
bath, and,  if  not  invited,  to  proceed  on  his  journey. 
When  he  reached  Connecticut  Farms,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Thompson  gave  him  a  letter  of  introduction  to  an  elder 
in  the  Elizabethtown  church  ;  but,  on  his  arrival  there, 


11 

(it  was  on  the  Fourth  of  July,)  he  found  the  elder  to 
whom  his  letter  was  addressed,  was  not  at  home.  The 
keeper  of  the  inn  at  which  he  stopped  directed  him  to 
another  elder,  (Mr.  Chandler,)  to  whom  he  showed  Mr. 
Thompson's  note,  and  from  whom  he  accepted  an  invi- 
tation to  pass  the  night  in  his  family.  The  next  morn- 
ing he  attended  a  prayer  meeting,  after  which  he  was 
invited  to  stay  and  preach  on  the  Sabbath.  He 
accepted  the  invitation,  and  preached,  but  nearly  half 
the  pews  in  the  house  were  empty,  their  regular  occu- 
pants having  been  drawn  off  to  hear  Mr.  Austin,  who 
was  then  preaching  in  the  Methodist  church.  At  the 
close  of  the  afternoon  service,  the  Session  communica- 
ted to  him  their  wish  that  he  would  relinquish  his  pur- 
pose of  going  immediately  to  Albany,  and  would  remain 
and  preach  for  them  four  more  Sabbaths.  With  this 
invitation  also  he  complied ;  and,  at  the  close  of  his 
engagement,  a  congregational  meeting  was  held,  and  a 
unanimous  call  presented  to  him  to  become  their  Pastor. 
This  was  on  the  29th  of  July,  1804.  None  of  those 
who  had  withdrawn  with  Mr.  Austin  were  present  at 
the  meeting. 

After  preaching  another  Sabbath,  he  left  Elizabeth- 
town,  and,  by  appointment  of  Presbytery,  spent  several 
weeks,  preaching  in  the  Pines  of  Monmouth  County. 


12 

In  the  beginning  of  October,  he  procured  a  dismission 
as  a  licentiate  from  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick, 
and  placed  himself  under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery 
of  New  York.  This  Presbytery  then  embraced  the  city 
of  New  York  and  vicinity,  and  East  Jersey,  as  far 
West  as  the  Raritan  River,  and  as  far  North  as  the 
Northern  line  of  the  State.  The  call  having  been 
accepted,  the  Presbytery  fixed,  as  the  time  of  his  ordi- 
nation and  installation,  the  26th  of  December  following. 
Accordingly,  on  that  day,  the  solemn  service  was  per- 
formed. The  Rev.  Dr.  Amzi  Armstrong,  Pastor  of  the 
church  in  Mendham,  N.  J.,  preached  the  sermon ;  Dr. 
McWhorter,  Senior  Pastor  of  the  church  in  Newark, 
presided,  and  gave  the  Charge  ;  and  Dr.  Griffin,  Junior 
Pastor  of  the  same  church,  delivered  the  Address  to 
the  People.  On  the  evening  of  the  same  day  that  Mr. 
McDowell  was  ordained,  Mr.  Austin  preached  his  Fare- 
well Sermon  to  the  portion  of  the  congregation  by 
whom  he  had  been  employed. 


13 


CHAPTER  II. 

His  Ministry  at  Elizabethtown. 

The    circumstances   in   which    Mr.    McDowell  com- 
menced his  ministry,  though,  in  some  respects,  highly- 
auspicious,  were,  in  others,  fitted  to  awaken  apprehen- 
sion and  anxiety.     The  congregation  had  a  deservedly 
high  reputation,  not  only  from  the  many  worthy  and 
distinguished  families  which  had  helped   to  constitute 
it  in  successive  generations,   but   also  from  its  having 
had  among  its  ministers   several  of  the   acknowledged 
Lights    of    the   Church  ; — men  of    even   transatlantic 
fame  ;  but,  at  this  period,  the   spirit   of  bitter   strife 
was  dominant  among  them,  and  nearly  half  the  legiti- 
mate members  had  put  themselves  into  an  attitude  of 
ecclesiastical  revolt.     Then  again,  notwithstanding  Mr. 
McDowell  had  had   the  advantage  of  a  thorough  edu- 
cation, both  classical  and  theological,  he  had  not  had 
the  advantage  of  any  experience  in  his  "profession,  nor 
had  he,  at  the  time  of  his  ordination,  a  single  sermon 
which  the  congregation  had  not  already  heard ;  while 
yet  the  large  amount  of  pastoral  labour  that  devolved 
upon  him,  seemed   to  leave  him  with  too  little  time  to 


14 

prepare  two  sermons  for  the  Sabbath,  and  the  dis- 
tracted state  of  the  people  called  for  all  the  wisdom 
which  conld  have  come  in  the  train  of  the  most  mature 
experience.  And  to  crown  all,  he  was  the  immediate 
successor  of  a  man  who,  for  attractive  manners,  fine 
social  and  pastoral  qualities,  and  powers  of  pulpit  elo- 
quence, had  probably  no  superior  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  When  he  came,  in  after  life,  to  review  the  sev- 
eral circumstances,  which  seemed  to  render  his  duty  so 
arduous  and  his  prospects  so  doubtful,  he  was  almost 
ready  tO'  charge  himself  with  presumption  for  having 
ventured  upon  so  important  and  difficult  a  field.  In  the 
result,  however,  he  found  all  the  evidence  he  could 
desire  that,  in  accepting  this  charge,  he  was  led  by  a 
kind  and  gracious  hand. 

Scarcely  had  Mr.  McDow^ell  assumed  his  pastoral 
charge  before  it  became  unmistakably  manifest  that  he 
subscribed  ex  animo  to  the  doctrine, — as  popular  as  it 
is  scriptural, — that  "  it  is  not  good  for  man  to  be 
alone."  From  the  very  brief  record  he  has  left  of  the 
manner  of  spending  his  time  at  this  period,  it  is  evi- 
dent that,  sometime  before  his  ordination,  he  was  sen- 
sible of  something  like  a  magnetic  power  emanating 
from  the  dwelling  of  Mr.  Shephard  Kollock,  a  worthy 
and  highly  respectable  citizen  of  the  place ;  and,  upon 


15 

closer  examination,  it  appears  no  less  evident  that  this 
power  was  concentrated  in  the  attractions  of  his  daugh- 
ter Henrietta.  After  a  while,  we  find  a  modest  intima- 
tion that  the  parents  have  been  consulted  on  the  delicate 
subject,  and  are  left  to  infer  the  i-esult  of  the  interview 
from  the  fact  that,  almost  immediately  after,  the  day 
for  the  wedding  was  fixed  upon.  That  the  proposed 
connection  was  every  way  agreeable  to  the  family  of 
the  young  lady,  may  be  inferred  from  the  following  let- 
ter, addressed  to  Mr.  McDowell,  by  her  brother,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Henry  Kollock,  shortly  after  the  engagement 
took  place. 

Princeton,  January  12,  1805. 
My  Dear  Sir  : 

Anxious  as  I  am  for  the  happiness  of  my  sister,  it  gives 
me  no  small  pleasure  to  find  that  she  will  have  an  amiable 
and  pious  man  for  her  friend  and  protector.  My  consent  to 
her  union  is  most  cheerfully  given,  and  my  best  wishes  will 
ever  attend  you.  The  quarterly  examination  will  be  con- 
cluded before  the  day  you  have  appointed,  and  I  shall.  Provi- 
dence permitting,  be  with  you.  If  it  would  be  equally 
agreeable  to  my  sister,  I  would  rather  be  a  spectator  than 
perform  the  ceremony.  I  suffered  so  much  in  marrying  Mary 
that  I  resolved  never  more  to  perform  the  ceremony  for  one 
of  my  sisters.  If,  however,  Henrietta  persists  in  her  wishes, 
I  shall  gratify  them,  though,  perhaps,  to  spare  the  feelings  of 
both  of  us,  it  would  be  better  to  get  one  of  our  neighbouring 
brethren. 

I  shall  not  forget  that  your  communication  was  made  in 
confidence.     No  one  but  Mrs.  K.  has  been  made  acquainted 


16 

with  the  contents  of  your  letter.     Believe  me  to  be,  with 
affection  and  esteem, 

H.  KOLLOCK. 

The  time  aj)pointed  for  the  wedding  was  the  5th  of 
February,  1805  ;  and,  accordingly,  on  that  day,  the 
marriage  was  duly  solemnized  by  the  bride's  brother, 
Dr.  Kollock.  Their  wedding  tour  was  limited  to  a 
short  trip  to  his  native  place  ;  whence,  after  spending 
two  or  three  days  in  visiting  his  parents  and  other 
friends,  he  returned  to  Elizabethtown,  to  resume  his 
work  with  the  more  alacrity  from  having  thus  gained 
the  object  of  his  affections,  in  whom  he  was  destined  to 
find  an  eiBcient  helper  to  the  end  of  his  journey.  On 
the  6th  of  April  following,  they  took  possession  of  the 
parsonage,  with  devout  thanksgivings  to  God  for  the 
manifold  blessings  with  which  their  lives  were  crowned. 

On  the  10th  of  June  of  this  year,  he  left  home, 
accompanied  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thompson,  of  Connecti- 
cut Farms,  to  perform  a  short  missionary  tour  in  some 
of  the  more  destitute  parts  of  New  Jersey.  During 
the  ten  days  that  he  was  absent,  he  visited  nearly  as 
many  towns,  preaching,  exhorting,  and  catechising,  as 
he  could  find  opportunity.  In  several  places,  the  meet- 
ings which  he  conducted  were  marked  by  great  solem- 
nity, and  attended  by  a  manifest  blessing.  It  is  wor- 
thy of  notice  that,  while  his  mind  seems  to  have  been 


IT 

intensely  set  upon  the  great  object  of  liis  mission,  the 
awakening  and  conversion  of  sinners,  and  the  spiritual 
growth  and  comfort  of  Christians,  he  still  practised  such 
rigid  economy  in  respect  to  time  that  he  devoted  more 
or  less  of  every  day  to  study.  Indeed,  as  his  ministry 
was  in  its  progress  and  at  the  end,  so  it  was  at  its 
beginning, — a  scene  of  earnest  and  vigorous  labour, 
bearing  directly  upon  the  best  interests  not  only  of 
his  own  people,  but  of  the  church  and  the  world  at 
large. 

At  the  very  commencement  of  his  ministry  Mr.  Mc- 
Dowell inaugurated  a  plan  of  systematic  labour,  includ- 
ing his  various  pastoral  duties,  and  whatever  pertained 
to  his  preparation  for  his  public  services,  and,  so  far 
as  was  possible,  the  duties  which  grew  out  of  his  more 
general  relations  to  the  Church.  In  the  progress  of  his 
ministry,  this  plan  was  of  course  m^odified  by  various 
changes  of  circumstances,  and  particularly  by  the  widen- 
ing and  deepening  of  his  own  ecclesiastical  influence ; 
but,  so  far  as  its  general  features  were  concerned,  it 
always  remained  the  same.  His  congregation  covered  a 
territory  of  at  least  five  square  miles;  and  though,  at  the 
time  of  his  ordination,  nearly  half  of  them,  if  not  actu- 
ally seceders,  sustained  but  a  dubious  relation  to  him 
as  a  Pastor,  yet,  as  their  leader  became    sick  of  his 

*9 


18 

enterprise  and  finally  abandoned  it,  they  were  all  will- 
ing to  come  back,  and  range  themselves  under  the  old 
banner.  The  united  congregation  was,  even  at  that 
time,  one  of  the  largest  within  the  bounds  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  ;  and  the  duties  which  devolved  upon 
its  Pastor  were  neither  few  nor  small ;  but  happily 
they  had  got  a  Pastor  who  shrank  from  no  labour,  no 
sacrifice,  no  self-denial,  necessary  to  the  performance 
of  them.  Besides  preaching  regularly  in  the  church 
twice  on  the  Sabbath,  he  attended  a  meeting  in  the 
lecture-room,  or  some  other  place,  in  the  evening.  On 
Wednesday  evening,  he  statedly  attended  a  large  Bible 
class  somewhere  in  the  town.  Thursday  afternoon  he 
spent  in  visiting  the  families,  and  catechising  the  child- 
ren, in  one  of  the  country  neighbourhoods  belonging  to 
the  congregation ;  and  in  the  evening  he  preached  in 
the  same  neighbourhood.  On  Friday  evening,  he  uni- 
formly preached  in  the  lecture-room.  In  addition  to 
these  duties,  besides  visiting  the  sick,  and  afflicted,  and 
inquiring,  he,  at  stated  periods,  made  a  strictly  reli- 
gious visit,  accompanied  by  an  elder,  to  every  family  in 
his  congregation.  This,  in  connection  with  his  diver- 
sified engagements  of  a  more  public  nature,  constituted 
his  ordinary  routine  of  duty  during  the  whole  period 
of  his  ministry  at  Elizabethtown.- 


19 

Within  a  few  months  after  his  settlement,  he  was 
applied  to,  to  baptize  a  child  whose  parents  were  not 
in  the  communion  of  the  church.  After  a  careful  exami- 
nation of  the  subject,  he  had  arrived  at  the  conclusion 
that  a  public  profession  of  religion  on  the  part  of  the 
parents  was  the  only  scriptural  condition  on  which  their 
children  could  be  admitted  to  Baptism.  In  accord- 
ance with  this  conviction  he  felt  constrained  to  decline 
the  request ;  though  his  doing  so  involved  an  infringe- 
ment of  the  long  established  order  of  the  church.  The 
opposition  to  his  theory  he  met  with  great  firmness, 
and  yet  with  great  prudence  ;  and,  though  the  church 
ultimately  adopted  his  views,  and  heartily  concurred 
in  his  practice,  the  following  extract  of  a  letter  from 
Dr.  Kollock,  dated  "Savannah,  February  26,  1807," 
shows  that  this  revolution  in  public  sentiment  was  not 
easily  or  hastily  effected. 

"  I  am  very  sorry  to  learn,  hj  a  letter  from  Dr.  Rodgers, 
that  there  was  likely  to  be  great  difficulty  in  your  congregation 
on  the  .question  concerning  Baptism.  Write  to  me  particu- 
lars on  this  subject  I  wish  we  could  think  alike  on  this 
point  ;  and  I  cannot  but  think  that  if  we  and  our  Sessions 
were  more  faithful  in  performing  our  duty  towards  baptized 
persons,  there  would  be  much  less  dispute  who  have  a  right 
to  the  ordinance.  Old  Dr.  Mather  has  a  remark  that  deserves 
the  attention  of  all  clergymen  :  '  It  is,'  says  he,  '  a  zealous 
and  diligent  attendance  to  discipline,  according  to  the  rules 


20 

of  Christ,  and  not  contracting  tlic  covenant,  that  will  keep 
churches  pure.  There  are  two  ways  practised  by  man  in 
order  to  keep  churches  pure — the  one  human,  the  other  Divine. 
The  human  way  is  to  straiten  the  grace  of  the  Lord's  cove- 
nant— the  Divine  way  is  faithfully  to  attend  to  discipline. 
Now  it  will  be  found,  in  the  issue,  that  the  Divine  way  only 
is  that  which  will  attain  the  end.'  By  adopting  this  '  Divine 
way '  baptism,  the  happiest  effects  would  be  produced,  and 
the  Church  would  act  in  consistence  with  her  real  character 
of  mother  of  the  children  whom  she  receives  into  her  bosom. 
This  idea, — that  the  Church  becomes  the  mother  of  baptized 
children,  is,  I  think,  indubitable  ;  and,  if  so,  from  the  faith 
and  engagements  of  the  Church,  children  have  a  right  to  this 
ordinance.  I  wish  you  would  weigh  this  consideration — it 
appears  to  me  of  no  small  consequence  in  this  controversy. 
Without  taking  this  ground,  it  will  be  difficult  to  defend  the 
validity  of  the  baptisms  of  the  greater  part  of  Christians. 
If  having  faith  in  the  parents  is  a  necessary  prerequisite  to 
the  baptism  of  children,  then  those  children  are  not  baptized 
whose  parents  were  not  endowed  with  saving  faith  at  the  time 
of  the  administration  of  this  rite — and  thus,  at  one  stroke, 
you  unbaptize  the  majority  of  Christendom.  Our  Catechism 
also  certainly  was  intended  to  speak  a  language  very  differ- 
ent from  your  practice.  We  are  there  told  that  the  children 
of  all  who  are  members  of  the  visible  Church  are  to  be  bap- 
tized— now  who  are  the  members  of  the  visible  Church  ?  Are 
they  only  those  who  are  in  communion  ?  We  are  taught  dif- 
ferently by  the  Scotch  Directory,  which  is  certainly  the  best 
Commentary  on  the  Catechism  as  far  as  it  will  apply  :  '  Chil- 
dren, by  baptism,'  it  asserts,  '  are  received  into  the  bosom  of 
the  visible  Church.'  It  necessarily  follows,  from  this  remark, 
that  the  composers  of  the  Scotch  Directory,  a  number  of 
whom  were  members  of  the  Westminster  Assembly,  did  not, 
by  the  visible  Church,  mean  the  communicants  alone.    Besides, 


21 

you  suppose  baptism  to  be  a  coufirmatory  seal  to  infants — of 
■what?  Not  that  they  shall  actually  enjoy  the  blessings  of 
the  covenant, — for  it  is  aiBxed  to  many  who  never  do  enjoy 
them,  and  God's  seal  is  never  delusive.  It  must  then  be  a 
confirmation  of  the  willingness  of  God  to  bestow  these  bless- 
ings upon  these  infants.  Are  we  authorized  to  deny  this  con- 
firmatory token  to  those  on  whom  the  Scriptures  declare  God 
is  willing  to  confer  these  blessings  ? 

"  These  are  a  few  of  my  ideas  on  this  subject,  which  I  have 
hastily  thrown  together.  Mr.  Thompson,  of  Connecticut 
Farms,  has  a  Defence  of  the  Presbyterian  Discipline,  written 
by  Rutherford,  in  which  you  will  see  what  has  been  the  prac- 
tice of  our  Church.  I  do  not  recollect  the  precise  title  of  the 
work — you  wall  find  in  it,  however,  a  chapter  on  this  subject." 

In  the  winter  and  spring  of  1806,  Mr.  McDowell's 
health,  owing  to  the  overtasking  of  his  energies  by 
physical  and  mental  labour,  had  so  perceptibly  declined 
that  it  was  thought  expedient  that  he  should  suspend 
his  labours  for  a  while,  and  give  himself  to  rest  and 
relaxation.  Accordingly,  he  left  home  about  the  close 
of  April,  in  company  with  his  neighbour,  the  Rev.  (after- 
wards Dr.)  AsaHillyer,  of  Orange,  with  a  view  to  make 
a  journey  into  New  England.  The  details  of  this  jour- 
ney are  all  preserved  in  letters  of  the  most  familiar 
kind,  which  he  wrote  almost  daily  to  Mrs.  McDowell. 
It  may  not  be  amiss  to  insert  two  or  three  of  them, 
which  may  serve  as  a  specimen  of  the  whole. 


22 

Stamford,  Conn.,  Tliursday  Evening, 
May  1,  1806. 

My  DEAR  Henrietta  : 

I  resume  the  agreeable  employment  of  epistolary  conversa- 
tion with  the  object  of  my  supreme  earthly  affection.  We 
set  out  this  morning',  after  breakfast,  from  Hai-lera..  I  rode  on 
leisurely  to  New  Rochelle,  ten  miles,  and  there  stopped  for 
two  hours.  The  infamous  Tom  Paine  resides  in  this  village, 
and  lodges  at  present  at  the  tavern  where  we  stopped.  As 
he  was  not  in,  we  walked  to  another  tavern  to  which  we  were 
told  he  had  gone,  on  purpose  to  see  him  ;  but  he  was  engaged 
with  a  gentleman  in  a  private  room,  so  that  we  were  not 
gratified  by  a  sight  of  this  revolting  curiosity. 

From  New  Rochelle  we  proceeded  on  to  Rye,  eight  miles, 
where  we  dined.  Leaving  Rye,  we  crossed  the  line  into  Con- 
necticut, and  rode  on  to  Greenwich,  and  called  for  a  few  min- 
utes on  Dr.  Lewis,  the  minister  of  the  parish.  This  stage  is 
six  miles  from  our  last.  From  Greenwich  we  passed  on  six 
miles  furthei',  to  Stamford,  a  pleasant  village  where  we 
lodge  to-night.  We  are  in  agreeable  quarters,  at  the  house 
of  Mr.  Smith,  the  clergyman  of  the  parish.  The  country 
through  which  we  have  come  to-day  is  naturally  very 
rough  and  hilly.  However,  we  have  had  a  turnpike  road  to 
travel  on  ;  and  the  country  is  in  a  state  of  improvement 
which  I  could  scarcely  have  thought  attainable,  considering 
its  natural  roughness.  What  added  much  to  the  pleasantness 
of  the  ride  was  the  prospect  of  the  Sound,  and  of  Long  Island 
beyond  it,  the  greater  part  of  the  way.  I  have  endured  the 
journey  to-day  much  better  than  I  did  yesterday  ;  and  am 
already  sensibly  stronger  than  when  I  set  out  from  home.  I 
am  considerably  fatigued  this  evening,  but  hope  to  be  able 
to  tell  you  to-morrow  morning  that  I  feel  better  after  the  rest 
of  the  night. 


23 

Friday  morning. 
It  is  as  I  expected — tlie  repose  of  the  night  has  refreshed 
and  invig'orated  me  to  proceed  on  the  journey.     But  I  will 
not  close  my  letter  until  we  reach  our  next  stage. 

NoRWALK,  2  o'clock. 

We  have  ridden  this  forenoon  ten  miles.  The  first  two 
days,  Mr.  Hillyer  took  me  on  farther  than  my  strength  would 
warrant  ;  but  to-day  he  has  allowed  me  to  have  the  control- 
We  are  now  at  the  house  of  Dr.  Burnett,  son-in-law  to  Dr. 
Eoe,  where  we  arrived  at  twelve.  We  have  just  risen  from 
the  dinner  table,  and  shall  presently'  pursue  our  journey. 
This  forenoon  we  called  at  Middlesex,  at  the  house  of  Dr. 
Mather,  half  way  between  Stamford  and  this  place.  Dr. 
Mather  is  in  his  eighty-eighth  year,  and  preaches  yet  twice 
on  the  Sabbath.  He  told  us  he  had  been  the  minister  of  Mid- 
dlesex sixty-four  years.  The  country  through  which  we  have 
travelled  to-day  is  not  unlike  that  which  we  had  previously 
found,  almost  from  our  leaving  New  York — the  fences  are 
nearly  all  of  them  stone  walls.  We  are  still  in  sight  of  the 
Sound,  and  shall  be  till  we  reach  New  Haven,  where  we  hope 
to  spend  the  next  Sabbath.  I  shall  not  close  this  till  we 
arrive  at  the  next  post-town. 

Fairfield,  5  o'clock. 

We  have  had  a  pleasant  ride  from  Norwalk  to  this  place, 
which  is  the  most  delightful  village  I  have  seen  since  I  left 
New  York,  We  passed  through  Saugatuck,  a  pleasant  little 
village,  about  six  miles  back.  The  country,  as  we  have 
advanced  in  this  direction,  has  become  much  more  level,  and 
more  free  of  stones-.  You  will  be  glad  to  know  that  I  feel 
very  comfortable.  Do  not  fail  to  write  me  on  Monday,  and 
direct  your  letter  to  Hartford,  Conn. 

With  the  warmest  affection. 

Your  husband, 

J.  McDowell. 


24 

The  following  is  the  next  letter,  written  three  days 
later,  and  dated 

New  Haven,  Monday  morning,  May,  5th. 
My  deak  Henrietta  : 

I  will  begin  where  I  left  off  Friday  evening.  We  rode 
from  Fairfield  four  miles  to  Bi-idgeport, — a  pleasant,  flourish- 
ing, commercial  town  on  the  Sound.  Here  we  lodged  at  the 
house  of  Mr.  Waterman,  the  clergyman,  who  you  remember 
called  upon  us  last  spring  on  his  return  from  the  General 
Assembly. 

In  the  morning  I  did  not  feel  quite  so  well  as  I  had  done 
for  a  day  or  two  preceding.  At  ten  we  resumed  our  journey, 
passed  through  the  pleasant  village  of  Stratford,  and  came 
to  Milford,  nine  miles  from  Bridgeport.  Here  we  stopped  and 
dined  with  Mr.  Pinneo,  the  clergyman  of  the  place.  His 
church  is  three  stories  high,  and  has  two  galleries,  one  above 
the  other.  From  Milford  we  rode  on  to  New  Haven,  nine 
miles,  where  we  arrived  before  five.  I  felt  greatly  fatigued, 
and  much  in  need  of  a  day  of  rest. 

The  country  through  which  we  passed  from  Norwalk  to 
this  place  is  very  pleasant.  New  Haven  is,  without  excep- 
tion, in  my  opinion,  the  handsomest  town  I  ever  saw.  The 
City  Green  in  front  of  the  College  is  surpassingly  beautiful. 
The  buildings  in  general  throughout  the  city,  so  far  as  I  have 
seen,  are  in  a  superior  style  of  excellence.  Coming  into  the 
city  on  Saturday  evening,  I  was  much  charmed  with  what 
was  to  me  a  very  great  curiosity, — a  balloon  ascending 
through  the  air.  It  contiDued  to  ascend  for  about  a  quarter 
of  an  hour,  and  then  as  gradually  descended  until  it  came  in 
contact  with  the  ground.  Whether  there  was  any  one  in  it  or 
not  I  cannot  say.  We  were  at  the  distance  of  nearly  two 
miles. 


25 

The  Sabbath  began  here  at  sunset  on  Saturday  evening. 
We  have  lodged  vs^ith  Mr.  Stuart,  whom  you  saw  with  Mr. 
Griffin  at  Elizabethtown.  On  Sabbath  forenoon,  we  heard 
Dr.  Dwight  preach  in  the  College  chapel.  He  is  a  most 
delightful,  instructive  preacher.  We  had  an  opportunity  of 
communing  with  them  in  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 
On  Saturday  afternoon  I  went  to  hear  Mr.  Merwin  preach, 
and  Mr.  Hilly er  went  to  hear  Mr.  Stuart,  both  young  men 
lately  settled  here.  I  felt  yesterday,  and  still  feel  this  morn- 
ing, incomparably  more  comfortable,  and  have  certainly 
gained  considerable  strength  since  I  came  to  New  Haven. 
Until  yesterday,  I  have  scarcely  been  able  to  walk  a  hundred 
yards,  or  to  ascend  a .  flight  of  stairs,  without  being  much 
fatigued;  but  now  lean  walk  much  faster  and  farther,  almost 
without  being  sensible  of  any  fatigue  at  all.  My  cough  has 
almost  entirely  left  me. 

Mr.  Hillyer  and  myself  have  as  yet  withstood  all  solicita- 
tions to  preach.  We  are  to  set  out  this  morning  to  visit  Mr. 
Hillyer' s  friends,  and  hope  to  arrive  there  to-morrow.  As 
our  journey  will  take  us  off  from  the  main  post-road,  I  can- 
not say  when  I  shall  be  able  to  write  again — perhaps  not 
before  Thursday,  at  Hartford,  where  we  intend  to  be  at  Elec- 
tion. There  I  expect  to  have  the  happiness  of  receiving  a 
letter  from  my  dear  wife.  I  cannot  tell  you  where  to  direct 
another  letter  to  me,  as  we  have  not  yet  determined  upon  our 
course  from  Hartford.  Remember  me  affectionately  to  all 
friends.  May  the  Lord  take  care  of  you  is  the  dail}^  prayer  of 
your  affectionate  husband,  JOHN  McDOWELL. 

The  next  day  after  this  letter  was  written,  our  trav- 
ellers proceeded  Northward,  and  their  first  stopping 
place  was  at  Cheshire,  where  they  dined  with  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Foote,  whom  Mr.  McDowell  represents  as  so  unce- 
remonious in  Lis  hospitality  that  he  led  their  horses 
3 


26 

into  the  stable,  fed  and  curried  them,  and  bestowed  every 
possible  attention  upon  both  the  horses  and  their  riders 
till  they  were  ready  to  proceed  on  their  journey. 
Their  next  stopping  place  was  at  Granby,  (Turkey 
Hills,)  where  they  had  an  opportunity  of  visiting  New- 
gate, which  was  then  the  State  Prison  of  Connecticut. 
Mr,  McDowell  explored  every  part  of  this  dismal  abode 
of  the  guilty,  descending  seventy-five  feet,  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  prison,  where  his  sympathies  were  awak- 
ened in  no  small  degree,  by  finding  one  of  the  misera- 
ble inmates,  alone,  and  in  chains,  amidst  that  deep 
darkness.  From  Granby  he  proceeded  to  Hartford, 
and  reached  there  on  the  morning  of  the  day  of  the 
General  Election.  Here  he  had  his  curiosity  gratified 
by  witnessing  the  splendid  procession,  the  military 
parade,  and  all  the  ceremonies  attendant  on  the  Inau- 
guration of  the  newly  chosen  Governor  and  Lieutenant 
Governor.  He  heard  the  Sermon  also,  known  as 
the  "  Election  Sermon,"  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  Lyman, 
which  he  seems  to  have  thought  very  creditable  to  the 
Congregational  pulpit  of  Connecticut.  He  dined 
with  the  clergy,  (at  least  a  hundred),  and,  to  his  great 
surprise,  found  himself,  at  the  dinner-table,  sitting  by 
the  side  of  his  old  friend  and  predecessor,  David  Aus- 
tin.    He  encountered  Dr.  Strong,  the  well  known  Pas- 


27 

tor  of  the  First  churcli  in  Hartford,  it  would  seem  in 
one  of  his  more  jocose  moods  ;  for  the  Doctor,  instead 
of  inviting  him  to  stay  over  the  Sabbath  and  preach 
for  him,  invited  him  to  stay  and  go  to  the  theatre  with 
him  ;  the  meaning  of  which  was  that  his  congregation, 
being  temporarily  without  a  church  edifice,  had 
engaged  the  theatre  for  their  Sunday  services.  After 
lingering  a  little  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Hartford,  and 
making  some  very  pleasant  acquaintances,  he  pro- 
ceeded North  to  Springfield,  and  thence  to  Northamp- 
ton, stopping  in  each  place  long  enough  to  see  what- 
ever was  of  special  interest  to  him.  From  Northamp- 
ton he  passed  on  to  New  Lebanon  Springs,  and  thence 
to  Sheffield,  where  he  ventured  to  preach  once  on  the 
Sabbath,  experiencing  no  ill  effects,  and,  a  few  days 
later,  was  safely  landed  at  his  own  home,  with  his 
health  so  much  invigorated  by  his  journey  that  he  was 
able  gradually  to  resume  his  accustomed  labours.- 

In  August,  1807,  he  was  greatly  encouraged  in  his 
work  by  being  permitted  to  witness  the  commencement 
of  an  extensive  and  powerful  revival  of  religion.  The 
first  decisive  evidence  of  any  unusual  manifestation  of 
Divine  influence  was  in  connection  with  a  very  impres- 
sive sermon  on  Prayer,  preached  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gideon 
Blackburn.    The  special  seriousness,  Originating  at  that 


28 

time,  increased  in  every  part  of  the  congregation,  until 
there  were  comparatively  few  who  remained  indifferent. 
This  state  of  things  continued  for  about  eighteen 
months  ;  and  the  number  added  to  the  communion  of 
the  Church,  as  the  fruit  of  this  revival,  was  about  a 
hundred  and  twenty.  Most  of  them  were  very  deeply 
and  powerfully  exercised  before  they  were  brought  to 
indulge  a  hope  in  God's  forgiving  mercy.  It  was  the  first 
scene  of  the  kind  in  which  Mr.  McDowell  ever  mingled ; 
and,  while  he  conducted  it  with  great  wisdom  and  care- 
fulness, it  gave  a  fresh  impulse  to  his  zeal  and  fidelity, 
and  had  no  doubt  an  important  bearing  upon  the  success 
of  his  subsequent  labours.  This  revival  extended  not 
only  through  his  own  congregation  but  into  other  con- 
gregations in  the  neighbourhood,  until  almost  every  con- 
gregation in  what  was  then  the  Presbytery  of  Jersey 
had  received  a  gracious  visitation. 

In  the  winter  immediately  succeeding  his  ordination, 
he  received  overtures  from  the  North  Dutch  Church  in 
Albany  in  reference  to  a  settlement  among  them ;  but 
be  declined  them  without  even  taking  any  time  to  con- 
sider their  claims.  The  first  call  which  he  received 
was  from  the  Collegiate  Dutch  Church  in  New  York,  in 
the  spring  of  1809.  Dr.  Abeel,  one  of  the*Associate 
Pastors,  went  to  Elizabethtown  on  Saturday,  intending, 


29 

without  being  recognized,  to  hear  Mr.  McDowell  preach 
on  the  Sabbath.     The  attempt,  however,  proved  abor- 
tive.    At  the  inn  at  which  he  stopped,  he  found  himself 
exceedingly  annoyed   by  the  gathering  of  the  young 
people  for  a  dance  on  Saturday  evening;  and  so  incon- 
genial  did  the  place  become  to  him  that  he  left  it  in 
disgust,  and,  as  it  turned  out,  sacrificed  the  object  of 
his  visit,  by  seeking  a  refuge  at  the  parsonage.     Mr. 
McDowell  received  him  gladly,  but  instead  of  co-opera- 
ting with  him  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  object  of 
his  visit,  he  actually  succeeded  in  inducing  him  to  preach 
for  him  in  the  morning ;  and  in  the  afternoon  Dr.  Abeel 
went  to  Newark  to  hear  Dr.  Griffin's  Farewell  Sermon ; 
so  that  he  returned  to  New  York  with  no  other  report 
concerning  Mr.  McDowell  than  that  he  was  a  very  hos- 
pitable, and  apparently  an  excellent,  minister.    It  seems, 
however,   that  Dr.  AbeePs  failure  to   accomplish  his 
object  did  not  prevent  the  Consistory  from  moving  in 
respect  to  the  call ;  and  the  following  correspondence 
reveals  the  spirit  of  both  parties  in  relation  to  it. 

From  the  Rev.  Dr.  Livingston. 

New  York,  August  5,  1809. 
My  dear  Sir  : 

The  same  precious  promises  which  confirm  our  hopes 
respecting  our  own  salvation,  extend  to  the  Church  of  Christ, 
and  ensure  our  confidence  in  the  continued  blessings  of  the 


30 

Lord  upon  Zion.  All  is  in  the  hand  of  our  Sovereign  Re- 
deemer, who  bears  the  g'lory,  and  builds  his  temple,  and  while 
He  executes  his  vast  designs,  renders  every  part,  and  the 
interests  of  every  individual,  subservient  to  the  whole.  This 
view  of  the  administration  of  his  Providence  not  only  seems 
to  inspire  us  with  adoration  and  joy,  but,  when  applied  to 
his  dealings  with  us,  is  calculated  to  quiet  our  minds,  to 
silence  our  objections,  and  produce  a  cheerful  acquiescence  in 
his  holy  will.  The  Lord  reigneth  :  and  it  is  well  for  the 
Church,  for  the  world,  for  ourselves,  that  He  is  upon  the 
throne.  He  appoints  our  lot  without  our  advice  ;  determines 
our  work  antecedent  to  our  requests  ;  and  assigns  us  our 
place  contrary  to  our  expectations,  and  often  beyond  our  most 
sanguine  wishes.  Let  the  wicked  rage  and  strive  to  break 
their  bonds,  they  know  not  what  they  do.  But  all  who  have 
tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious  and  submitted  to  his  blessed 
yoke,  will  cheerfully  acknowledge  his  right  to  dispose  of 
them,  and  resign  their  own  choice  and  plans  to  his  counsel 
and  direction,  as  far  as  that  can  be  ascertained.  It  must  be 
so — grace  always  produces  this.  Every  sincere  disciple  of 
Jesus,  and  especially  every  faithful  minister,  when  rightly 
exercised,  will  desire  to  exclaim  with  the  Prophet,  "Here  am 
I,  send  me  ; "  and  when  the  Master  shall  please  to  remove 
all  doubts  and  difficulties  in  the  path  of  duty,  and  shall  say 
"  Go,"  will  confidently  commit  the  work,  and  the  whole  train 
of  consequences,  into  his  hand,  and  cheerfully  follow  the  Lamb 
whithersoever  He  shall  lead  them.  Excuse,  my  dear  Sir, 
these  sentiments  which  flow  spontaneously  as  a  pleasing  pre- 
lude to  what  I  wish  to  communicate.  I  love  to  think  and 
speak  honourably  of  our  Divine  Lord.  I  love  to  trace  his  foot- 
steps in  the  sanctuary,  and  to  recommend  Him  to  the  confi- 
dence and  affection  of  all  his  servants.  You  do  the  same  ; 
and  these  views  ©f  his  wisdom,  faithfulness  and  power  will 


31 

prepare  you  to  attend  to  bis  dealings  with  respect  to  yourself, 
and  I  hope  convince  you  of  present  duty,  and  enable  you  to 
know  the  voice  of  the  Divine  Shepherd,  and  animate  you  with 
courage  and  zeal  to  fulfil  his  command. 

Our  friend,  Mr.  Nixen,  who  has  taken  up  the  cross  many 
years  ago,  and  is  by  us  numbered  among  those  who  love  the 
Lord,  will  tell  you  that  the  hearts  of  all  our  Consistory  were 
suddenly,  and,  even  while  deliberating  upon  other  men,  unex- 
pectedly turned  towards  you.  The  discouragements  you  had 
before  given  seemed  to  have  stifled  the  hope  of  obtaining  you, 
and  rendered  it  necessary  to  think  upon  others.  When,  over- 
ruled, as  it  were,  of  the  Lord,  notwithstanding  all  these  dis- 
couragements, the  whole  Board  were  unanimously  impressed 
with  a  resolution  to  call  you,  knowing  that  your  heart  and 
all  events  were  at  his  disposal,  the  Consistory,  I  trust  in  faith, 
in  hope,  and  in  love,  have  looked  up  to  the  Head  of  the 
Church,  over  all  the  mountains  in  the  way,  and  committed  the 
issue  into  his  hand,  who  has  often  helped  us  with  choice 
instruments,  and  who,  we  believe,  will  also  add  you  as  a 
blessing  to  us. 

This,  according  to  our  constitution,  has  been  laid  before 
our  Great.  Consistory,  and  they  all  most  cordially  appr.ove 
of  our  choice.  There  is  not  a  dissenting  voice  :  The  old  and 
the  young  unite  in  the  invitation.  All  cry  out, — "  Come  over 
and  help  us."  You  know  you  will  be  sweetly  welcome  to 
your  colleagues.  Dr.  Abeel  will  rejoice  to  have  you  with  him 
in  the  work  ;  and  be  assured  I  will  embrace  you  with  an 
affectionate  heart  and  love  you  fervently. 

A  more  attentive,  loving  and  quiet  people  than  ours  are  not 
to  be  found  in  all  the  churches.  I  have  served  them  thirty- 
nine  years — from  my  youth  to  advanced  age  I  have  been  with 
them.  I  know  them  ;  I  love  them  ;  and  have  cause  to  speak 
well  of  them  ;  and  when  we  part,  I  will  leave  my  blessing 
upon  them,  and  expect  to  meet  many  of  them  in  glory. 


32 

We  lament  the  loss  your  present  people  will  sustain — but 
what  shall  we  say  ?  What  can  be  done  ?  The  state  of  soci- 
ety, and  the  wants  and  perilous  situation  of  the  churches, 
render  such  steps  unavoidable.  They  are  practised  every 
where  in  Europe  ;  they  are  frequent  in  America  ;  and  must 
not  excite  any  unpleasant  feelings  among  dear  brethren  and 
fellow  Christians.  "  It  is  the  Lord  !  let  Him  do  what  seemeth 
Him  good." 

Now,  my  dear  Brother,  the  Lord  will  assuredly  show  you 
what  you  are  to  do.  I  should  be  happy  to  see  you,  but  do 
not  know  when  I  can  call  upon  you.  I  will  meet  you  every 
day  at  the  throne  of  grace.  I  bless  you,  and  am,  with  sin- 
cere regard, 

Your  most  affectionate, 

J.  H.  LIVINGSTON. 

Two  days  after  the  date  of  the  preceding  letter,  Dr. 
Livingston  addressed  another  communication  to  Mr. 
McDowell,  urging  still  further  his  acceptance  of  the 
call,  and  mentioning  incidentally  that  the  salary  which 
had  been  voted  him  was  twenty-five  hundred  dollars, 
which,  with  the  many  valuable  perquisites  he  would 
receive,  was  thought  to  be  a  very  generous  compensa- 
tion. To  these  letters  Mr.  McDowell  returned  the 
following  answer. 

Elizabethtown,  August  8,  1809, 
Rev.  and  Dear  Sir  : 

I  had  fondly  hoped  to  escape  the  trial  to  which  I  learn 
from  your  letters  that  I  am  called.  Happily  and  comfortably 
settled  among  the  people  of  my  present  charge  ;  made,  in 


33 

some  measure,  useful  among  them;  and  cherishing  towards 
them  an  ardent  affection,  I  had  hoped,  and  expected,  and 
resolved  to  spend  my  days  with  them,  and  mingle  my  dust 
with  theirs;  and,  therefore,  I  have  heretofore,  uniformly  and 
immediately,  on  a  proposal  for  a  removal  being  made  to  me, 
declined  it.  This  I  did  when  the  proposal  was  first  made  by 
individuals  of  your  church.  When  Mr.  D — a,  a  few  Sab- 
baths since,  intimated  to  me  that  your  church  would  still 
probably  make  out  for  me  a  call,  notwithstanding  all  the  dis- 
couragements, I  was  not  a  little  surprised,  and  felt  it  my 
duty  to  be  silent,  and  watch  more  carefully  the  leadings  of 
Providence  on  this  subject — I  viewed  it  in  a  more  momentous 
aspect  than  I  had  done  before,  and  came  to  the  determination 
to  put  myself  unreservedly  at  the  Divine  disposal,  and  to 
endeavour  to  ascertain  his  will,  and  to  obey  it,  however  it 
might  contravene  my  most  cherished  plans  and  hopes. 

Your  letter,  my  dear  Sir,  places  this  subject  before  me  in  a 
still  more  solemn  and  impressive  manner.  I  can  say  nothing 
at  present  as  to  the  result  of  your  call  ;  but  if  it  should  not 
be  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  your  people,  I  pray  that 
I  may  not,  in  any  way,  needlessly  wound  the  feelings  of 
those  who  have  manifested  such  undue  partiality  towards  me. 

You  inquire  as  to  the  regular  course  to  be  pursued  as  it 
respects  the  judicatory  of  the  church  to  which  I  belong. 
The  call  must  come  through  Presbytery  before  it  can  regu- 
larly come  into  my  hands  for  decision.  I  believe  it  would  be 
indelicate  for  me  to  ask  a  meeting  of  Presbytery  for  the  pur- 
pose. Your  Consistory  would  be  the  proper  body  to  do  that; 
and  the  regular  mode  is  as  follows  : —  You  must  draw  up  a 
letter  addressed  to  the  Moderator.  This  letter  must  be  signed 
by  two  Ministers  of  the  Presbytery,  and  two  Elders, — the 
Elders  belonging  to  different  congregations.  On  such  a 
request  coming  to  the  Moderator,  he  is  obliged,  according  to 
the  constitution  of  our  Church,  to  convene  the  Presbytery 
accordingly.     Dr.  Roe,  of  Woodbridge,  is  our  Moderator. 


34 

But,  Dear  Sir,  I  doubt  whether  the  calling  of  an  extra 
meeting  will  much  expedite  the  issue  of  this  business.  I 
must  have  time  to  watch  the  movements  of  Providence,  and 
make  up  my  own  mind.  Our  regular  meeting  will  be  on  the 
first  Tuesday  of  October,  at  Springfield.  And  should  the 
call  be  presented  then,  nothing  more  can  be  done,  unless  the 
people  of  my  charge  concur,  than  to  put  the  call  into  my 
hands  and  cite  the  congregation  to  appear  by  their  Commis- 
sioners, at  the  next  meeting  of  Presbytery,  to  show  cause,  if 
any  they  have,  why  I  should  not  be  removed.  This  meeting 
may  be  in  ten  days  after  such  citation. 

But  if  your  Consistory  would  rather  there  should  be  a 
special  meeting  called,  I  have  no  objections  ;  and  perhaps 
there  would  be  these  advantages  in  it  ;  that  the  members  of 
Presbytery,  having  the  subject  before  them,  might  be  matur- 
ing their  judgment  in  the  case,  or  preparing  to  make  a  deci- 
sion, if  they  should  be  asked  so  to  do.  It  would  place  the 
business  in  a  still  more  solemn  manner  before  me;  and  Com- 
missioners from  my  congregation  might  be  present  at  the 
stated  meeting,  and  thus  the  matter  be  then  decided.  I 
leave  the  whole  business  to  your  own  judgment.  I  hope  and 
pray  that  the  Lord  may  direct  me.  Again,  my  dear  Sir,  I  ask 
your  prayers.     From  your  affectionate  young  friend, 

JOHN  McDowell. 

The  following  letter  from  Mr.  McDowell,  bearing  date 
a  few  days  later  than  the  preceding,  and  addressed  to 
two  prominent  members  of  the  Consistory,  (Messrs. 
Nixen  and  Duryea),  shows  how  deeply  the  people  of 
Elizabethtown  were  exercised  in  view  of  the  possi- 
bility of  losing  their  Pastor,  and  how  intensely  his 
mind  also  was  exercised  on  the  same  subject. 


35 

Elizabethtown,  August  22,  1809. 
My  Dear  Friends  : 

Since  I  was  in  New  York  last  week,  I  have  passed  through 
a  scene  of  trial  which  I  can  scarcely  describe  to  you.  The 
subject  of  your  call  has  occupied  my  mind,  whether  sleeping 
or  waking.  On  Tuesday  of  last  week,  I  communicated  it  to 
my  Session  ;  and  it  seemed  greatly  to  distress  them. 
Directly  after  it  became  public  in  the  congregation,  and  has 
occasioned  a  great  deal  of  anxiety  and  distress.  And  there 
has  scarcely  been  an  hour  of  the  day  since,  but  I  have  had 
persons  calling  upon  me,  and  expressing  the  warmest  affec- 
tion, deprecating  the  consequences  of  my  removal,  and 
imploring  me  to  make  up  my  mind  to  remain  with  my  pres- 
ent charge.  Although  I  knew  my  people  wel'c  attached  to 
me,  I  had  no  idea  of  the  strength  of  their  affection  :  and 
though  I  had  before  felt  that  a  separation  would  be  to  me  a 
great  trial,  I  did  not  anticipate  that  it  would  be  such  a  rend- 
ing of  my  very  heart-strings  as  I  now  perceive  it  must  be. 
I  have  endeavoured  carefully  to  look  at  the  subject  in  all  its 
bearings — it  has  seldom  been  out  of  my  mind  for  a  moment 
— and  I  cannot,  as  yet,  see  any  indication  of  Providence 
that  it  is  my  duty  to  relinquish  my  present  charge.  But,  on 
the  contrary,  every  day  it  appears  more  and  more  plainly  my 
duty  to  continue  where  I  am.  The  strong  attachment  of  my 
people  to  me  as  well  as  mine  to  them  ;  the  probable  evils 
which  a  separation  might  bring  upon  them  ;  the  willing- 
ness which  they  have  always  manifested,  and  which  they 
now  increasingly  manifest,  to  minister  to  my  temporal  com- 
fort ;  the  advice  of  my  brethren  around  me,  so  far  as  I  have 
been  able  to  obtain  it  ;  the  extensiveness  of  the  field  which 
I  now  occupy,  and  the  evidence  1  have  that  my  labours  here 
have  not  been  in  vain — these  and  other  considerations 
incline  me  strongly  to  the  belief  that  it  is  my  duty  to  remain 
here.  My  people,  in  order  that  their  minds  may  be  relieved 
from  painful  suspense,  are  urging  me  to  a  speedy  decision 


36 

— I  have,   therefore,   on   mature    consideration,   thought  it 
advisable  to  suggest  to  you  whether  it  would   not  be  best  to 
stop  the  call  before  it  proceeds  any  farther.     But  still,  as  I 
have  pledged  myself  to  you  to  take  this  matter  into  serious 
consideration,  and  have  formerly  even  expressed  a  wish  that 
I  might  have  till  October  to  deliberate,  I  am  still  willing,  if 
you  wish  it,  that  the  call  should  come  before  Presbytery  next 
week,  and  I  will  at  any  time  give  an  answer,  or  keep  it  till 
the  stated  meeting  in  October,  and  will  continue  to  endeavour 
carefully   to   watch  the  indications  of  Providence,   and,  if, 
within  that  time,   I  should  become  convinced  that  it  is  my 
duty  to  go  to  you,  I  will  certainly  go.     But  from  every  thing 
that  I  can  see  at  present,  I   believe  I  shall  still  stay  where 
I  am.     Hence  I  should  prefer  that  the  call  should  be  arrested, 
and  prosecuted  no  further.     At  the  time  the  call  was  made 
out,  I  felt  that  it  was   a  business  of  such  a  solemn  nature 
that  I  was  bound  to  make  it  a  subject  of  solemn  considera- 
tion,    I  was  not  without  painful  apprehension  that,  in  oppo- 
sing the  private  overtures  which  had  been  made  to  me,  I 
might  have  resisted  the  will  of  God;  hence  I  was  brought  to 
a  stand,  and  did  not  forbid  you  to  proceed.     But  if  I  had  felt 
then  as  I  do  now,  I  should  certainly  have  endeavoured  to  save 
you  all  the  trouble  to  which  you  have  since  been  subjected. 

Let  me  have  your  answer  to  this  as  soon  as  possible,  that 
I  may  know  what  course  to  pursue  with  my  people, — 
whether  still  to  keep  them  in  suspense,  or  announce  to  them 
that  the  business  is  ended.  May  the  Lord  bless  your  church, 
and  speedily  send  you  a  Pastor  after  his  own  heart.  Yours, 
most  affectionately,  J.  McDOWELL. 

The  following  from  Dr.  Livingston  to  Mr.  McDowell, 
while  it  shows  a  greatly  diminished  confidence  in  the 
result  of  the  application,  shows  an  interest  in  it  not  at 
all  abated,  and  is  alike  creditable  to  both  of  them 


37 

New  York,  September  9,  1809. 
Rev.  and  Dear  Sir  : 

The  candour  and  confidence  evinced  in  your  last  communi- 
cation recommend  you  to  my  esteem  and  enhance  my  respect 
and  affection  for  you.  I  know  how  to  sympathize  under 
the  conflict  of  contending  motives,  and  am  no  stranger  to  the 
painful  apprehensions  which  perplex  the  mind,  when  interest- 
ing events  are  immediately  depending  upon  our  own  deter- 
mination. But  you  must  excuse  me  for  declining  the  painful 
and  improper  task  of  making  any  observations  upon  what 
you  have  suggested.  I  am  confident  of  your  sincerity,  and 
know  you  wish  unreservedly  to  discovcE  and  fulfil  the  pleas- 
ure of  your  Lord.  Be  encouraged  to  acknowledge  Him  alone, 
and  cast  your  burthen  upon  Him.  He  will  direct,  and  enable 
you  with  clearness  and  firmness  to  decide  upon  this  interest- 
ing subject.  And  I  most  sincerely  hope  that  nothing  may  be 
ever  experienced  hereafter  that  will  prompt  the  wish  that 
another  conclusion  had  been  formed. 

Agreeably  to  your  request,  I  have  communicated  your  let- 
ter to  the  Consistory.  We  can  only  repeat  what  we  have 
already  often  mentioned — that,  as  we  sought  direction  of  the 
Lord,  and  were  unanimous  in  our  determination  to  call  you, 
so  we  have,  in  his  fear,  faithfully  accomplished  whatever  we 
can  do  :  and  now,  in  a  humble  dependence  upon  his  sovereign 
and  merciful  dispensation,  we  leave  the  event  with  Him,  and 
patiently  await  the  result.  We  cannot,  therefore,  consent  to 
withdraw  the  call,  or,  by  any  act  of  ours,  relinquish  our  claim 
upon  you.     It  is  with  you  to  determine  what  shall  be  the  issue. 

Perhaps  some  change  in  your  views  may  succeed.  Per- 
haps some  unforeseen  circumstances,  in  the  course  of  Divine 
Providence,  may  occur.  But  if,  after  a  sufficient  pause,  when 
you  again  calmly  review  the  whole  case,  and  impartially 
explore  the  inevitable  consequences  in  all  their  various  bear- 
ings, you  are  still  of  the  same  mind,  and  if  you  still  judge 
4 


38 

that  your  removal  would  have  an  unhappy  influence  upon  the 
interests  of  religion, — if  it  would  indeed  be  "  violating  your 
conscience,  and  acting  in  direct  opposition  to  the  will  of  God 
clearly  manifested  by  his  Providence  ;"  and  if  these  conclu- 
sions will  certainly  be  the  result  of  your  most  serious  and 
protracted  deliberations,  then  the  matter  is  decided.  You 
have  it,  therefore,  unquestionably  in  your  power  to  determine 
and  close  the  whole  business  whenever  and  in  what  manner 
you  please,  and  we  shall  and  must  of  course  acquiesce  in  the 
event. 

Accept  of  the  assurance  of  my  kindest  regard.  That  the 
blessing  of  the  Lord  may  rest  abundantly  upon  you  and  yours, 
is  the  fervent  prayer  of, 

My  dear  Sir, 
Your  affectionate  friend  and  brother  in  Christ, 
Our  precious  Redeemer, 

J.  H.  LIVINGSTON. 

Six  days  after  the  date  of  this  letter,  Mr.  McDowell 
put  an  end  to  the  negotiation  by  returning  a  negative 
answer  to  the  call.  Whereupon,  the  congregation,  by 
a  most  respectable  committee,  testified  their  grateful 
approval  of  his  decision,  by  addressing  to  him  the  fol- 
lowing note. 

Dear  Sir  :  In  behalf  of  the  First  Presbyterian  congrega- 
tion in  Elizabethtown,  and  agreeably  to  their  instructions,  we 
take  great  pleasure  in  expressing,  in  their  name,  their  entire 
and  unanimous  approbation  to  you  of  the  manner  in  which 
you  have  treated,  and  finally  answered,  the  application  which 
has  been  made  to  you  for  a  removal  from  us,  agreeably  to  the 
written  communications  which  have  been  laid  before  them. 


39 

And  we  are  further  authorized  and  instructed  to  declare  to 
you,  in  the  name  of  the  cong'reg'ation,  that  this  additional  and 
renewed  instance  of  your  attachment  to  them,  and  of  your 
affection  for  this  people,  among  whom  you  have  so  worthily 
oflSciated  for  some  years  past,  as  our  Pastor  and  spiritual 
guide,  is  fully  reciprocated  on  our  part. 

JONATHAN  DAYTON, 
MOSES  C.  CHANDLER, 
WILLIAM  SHUTE, 
AARON  OGDEN. 
To  the  Rev.  John  McDowell. 

The  very  next  week  after  he  declined  the  call  from 
the  Dutch  Church,  he  received  one  from  the  Brick 
(Presbyterian)  Church  in  the  same  city;  and,  as  his 
reasons  for  declining  the  one  call  were  known,  a  very 
elaborate  communication  was  addressed  to  him, 
designed  to  convince  him  that  those  reasons  were  not 
applicable  to  the  other.  The  reasoning,  however,  did 
not  produce  the  desired  eJTect — he  was  disposed  to 
decline  the  call  without  even  allowing  it  to  come  before 
Presbytery  ;  but,  by  the  urgent  request  of  the  church, 
he  finally  yielded  his  objections,  and  the  Presbytery 
decided  against  his  removal. 

About  this  time,  (September,  1809,)  Mr.  McDowell 
was  greatly  tried  by  the  getting  up  of  a  Horse  Race  by 
some  persons  from  the  city  of  New  York,  in  the  imme- 
diate  neighbourhood  of  the  town.     When  he  became 


40 

apprized  of  what  was  on  foot,  he  was  greatly  distressed 
at  the  prospect  of  the  evil  consequent  upon  such  a 
scene  to  the  morals  of  the  community,  and  set  himself 
to  do  his  utmost  to  prevent  it.  He  went  to  Mr.  Kollock, 
his  father-in-law,  who  was  a  magistrate  in  the  town, 
and  asked  him  if  the  civil  authorities  would  not  inter- 
fere to  stop  the  races ;  and  his  answer  was  that  they 
could  do  nothing.  Mr.  McDowell,  disappointed,  but  not 
disheartened,  replied, — "Well,  if  human  help  fails,  I 
will  seek  help  from  a  Higher  Power."  He  immediately 
convened  the  Session  of  his  church;  and  they  appointed 
the  Tuesday  following  to  be  observed  as  a  day  of  fast- 
ing and  prayer  to  God  that  he  would  avert  the  threat- 
ened evil.  On  the  intervening  Sabbath,  he  delivered  a 
most  solemn  discourse  on  the  text, — "Cry  aloud  and  spare 
not,  lift  up  thy  voice  like  a  trumpet,  and  show  my  peo- 
ple their  transgressions,  and  the  House  of  Jacob  their 
sins  ;  "  and  most  fully  did  he  enter  into  the  spirit  of 
his  text.  After  having  exhibited  with  great  boldness 
and  plainness  the  sins  connected  with  and  consequent 
upon  this  criminal  practice,  he  concludes  the  discourse 
by  the  following  appeal  to  persons  of  different  charac- 
ters and  classes. 

"  1.  Permit  me  to  address  those  present  who  move  in  the 
higher  walks  of  life.     You  have  influence — your  opinions  and 


41 

your  example  have  great  weight.  Let  me  earnestly  exhort 
you  seriously  to  consider  this  subject.  Take  a  view  of  the 
crimes  openly  practising  among  us — consider  their  dangerous 
influence  on  the  interests  of  religion,  morality  and  civil  order  ; 
and  especially  their  demoralizing  influence  on  the  young. 
And  let  me  earnestly  entreat  you  to  frown  upon  these  things — 
do  not  sanction  them  by  your  presence — keep  at  a  distance 
from  them — bear  your  testimony  against  them — and  use  your 
influence  and  exertions  to  suppress  them.  Acting  thus,  you 
will  have  the  sweet  felicity  of  the  approbation  of  your  own 
consciences — you  will  deserve  well  of  your  eountry — the 
blessing  of  the  virtuous  and  pious  will  rest  upon  you — their 
prayers  will  be  offered  up  for  the  blessing  of  Heaven  upon  you 
and  yours  ;  and  future  generations  will  rise  up  and  call  you 
blessed. 

"  2  Permit  me,  in  view  of  this  subject,  to  say  a  word  to 
Magistrates.  I  will  not  undertake  to  point  out  to  you  your 
duty  on  this  occasion,  as  civil  oSicers — you  know  this  better 
than  I  can  tell  you.  I  would  only  remind  you  that  you  are 
ordained  of  God,  (Rom.  XIII,  1,)  and  ordained  for  the  pimish- 
ment  of  evil  doers,  and  for  the  praise  of  them  that  do  well,  (1 
Pet.  II,  14.)  You  are  accountable  to  God  for  the  faithful  dis- 
charge of  your  duty  in  your  office  ;  and  see  to  it  that  you 
keep  consciences  void  of  offence. 

"  3.  I  would  call  upon  the  whole  of  this  congregation  to 
set  their  faces  against  this  wickedness.  It  is  disgraceful  to 
the  town  you  live  in.  It  is  introducing  a  flood  of  vice  among 
you.  In  its  tendency,  it  is  destructive  of  your  souls,  and  the 
souls  of  your  children.  It  is  a  large  link  in  the  chain  of  those 
causes  which,  without  deep  repentance,  will  sooner  or  later, 
bring  down  the  judgments  of  God  upon  us — and  perhaps 
those  exterminating  judgments,  which  He  is  now  so  awfully 
pouring  out  upon  the  nations  of  Europe  for  their  crimes.     Go 


42 

not  near  this  scene — bear  your  testimony  ag-ainst  this  wick- 
edness— use  every  lawful  exertion  to  bring  the  authors,  con- 
trivers, and  promoters  of  it  to  justice — let  the  public  mind 
be  against  it,  and  be  expressed — let  the  authors  be  held  in 
abhorrence,  and  it  will  stop. 

"4.  Permit  me  to  address  the  Young.  My  beloved  youth 
for  you  especially  I  fear  and  tremble  on  this  occasion.  You 
are  to  form  the  future  members  of  the  Church  and  of  civil 
society  ;  and  the  interests  of  both  are  intimately  connected 
with  the  manner  in  which  you  are  trained  up,  and  the  habits 
which  you  now  form  ;  yea,  your  own  everlasting  salvation  is 
intimately  connected  therewith.  And  you  are  in  great  dan- 
ger, from  the  scene  of  vice  among  us,  of  becoming  corrupted 
and  forming  vicious  habits.  Let  me  most  tenderly,  and  affec- 
tionatel}',  and  earnestly,  exhort  you  not  to  go  near  these  races. 
Yes,  I  charge  you,  as  your  minister,  to  keep  at  a  distance. 
Avoid  that  place,  as  you  would  one  infested  with  some  deadly 
contagion.  That  place  is  the  ivay  to  hell,  going  down  to  the 
chambers  of  death. 

5.  "  Parents,  Guardians,  Masters,  I  call  upon  you,  and 
charge  you  to  be  faithful  at  this  time.  If  you  regard  the 
favour  of  God,  and  the  interests  of  his  cause,  if  you  regard 
the  good  of  society,  and  especially  if  you  regard  the  ever- 
lasting happiness  of  the  souls  of  those  under  your  care,  be 
careful  to  restrain  them  from  going  near  this  scene  of  vice — 
keep  them  from  it  as  you  would  from  a  place  infected  with 
the  plague. 

6.  "  People  of  God,  I  would  next  address  you.  I  hope 
you  all  feel  on  this  occasion — many  of  you,  I  know,  do  feel 
most  deeply  ;  and  all  of  you  who  liave  grace  in  exercise 
must  be  sighing  for  these  abominations.  Let  me  exhort  you, 
by  every  just  mode  of  expression,  to  bear  your  decided  tes- 
timony against  these  things,    and  show  your  abhorrence  of 


43 

them.  Be  deeply  humbled  before  God.  Why  has  He  per- 
mitted these  abominations,  replete  with  spiritual  judgments, 
to  come  in  upon  us  ?  Is  it  not  for  the  sins  of  this  place — for 
the  abuse  of  such  distinguished  mercies  as  it  has  enjoyed  ? 
And  have  not  the  people  of  God  been  partakers  in  these 
abuses  ?  Therefore  let  us  be  deeply  humbled — let  us  mourn 
for  our  own  sins,  and  the  sins  of  others.  Let  us  be  much 
engaged  in  humble  and  earnest  prayer  to  God.  If  He  does 
not  interpose,  we  are  undone — his  cause  must  sink  in  this 
place.  He  may  hear  us — yea,  we  have  abundant  reason  to 
believe  that,  if  we  be  in  earnest.  He  will  hear  us  ;  for  He  is 
a  God  who  heareth  prayer  ;  and  his  word  declares  that  the 
effectual  fervent  prayer  of  a  righteous  man  availeth  niuch, 
(James,  V,  16.)  The  Lord  reigneth — He  is  stronger  than  man 
— the  wrath  of  man  shall  praise  Him — and  He  has  given  us 
encouragement  to  believe  that  when  the  enemy  shall  come  in 
like  a  flood,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  shall  lift  up  a  standard 
against  him  ;  (Isa.  LIX,  19).  This  is  our  hope  and  joy.  Let 
us  be  engaged,  and  we  may  hope  that  He  wilKhelp,  and  open 
a  door  of  deliverance  from  the  dreadful  effects  of  these  abomi- 
nations. And,  0  ye  people  of  God — all  who  bear  his  name, 
Come  out  from  among  them,  and  he  ye  separate,  saith  the  Lord, 
and  touch  not  the  unclean  thing;  (2  Cor.  VI,  It).  Have  no  fel- 
loivship  icith  the  unfruitful  works  of  darkness  ;  (Eph.  V,  11). 
0  my  soul,  come  not  thou  into  their  secret  ;  unto  their  assembly, 
mine  honour,  he  not  thou  united  ;  (Gen.  XLIX,  6.) 

t.  "  Are  there  any  here  this  day,  who  are  the  authors  or 
promoters  of  this  scene  of  wickedness,  and  who  are  deter- 
mined still  to  persevere  ?  Let  me  call  upon  you,  and  charge 
you  to  pause  and  consider.  It  may  be  the  last  call  while 
there  is  hope  for  you.  Tliis  may  be  the  last  day  of  God's 
patience  ;  and  if  you  proceed,  you  may  hereby  forever  close 
the  door  of  mercy  against  you.  Oh,  pause,  before  it  may  be 
forever  too  late.  Reflect  on  the  dreadful  weight  of  guilt 
which  will  press  upon  you  if  you  persevere.     You  are  filling 


44 

God's  people  with  distress — they  are  dear  to  Him — in  all 
their  afflictions  He  is  represented  as  being  afflicted  ;  (Is a. 
LXIII,  9).  Therefore  every  sigh,  and  groan,  and  pain  wliich 
you  occasion  them,  will  one  day  rise  up  against  you — the  guilt 
of  those  who  may  be  corrupted  during  this  scene  will  be 
laid  to  your  charge — you  will  have  been  partakers  in  their 
sins.  The  sins  of  generations  to  come  will  be  laid  to  your 
charge — and  should  lives  be  lost  on  this  occasion,  as  will 
probably  be  the  case,  yea,  one  already  has  been  lost! — and 
this  blood  crieth  from  the  earth  to  Heaven  against  you  for 
vengeance.  You  have  been  the  occasion  of  shedding  this 
blood  ;  and  however  it  may  be  viewed  in  the  sight  of  men, 
in  the  sight  of  God  this  blood  will  be  laid  to  your  charge. 
This  town  is  defiled  with  blood,  and  you  must  answer  for  it. 
0  what  a  load  of  guilt  will  press  upon  you — and  what  an 
awful  punishment  awaits  you  !  Once  more,  I  beseech  you, 
pause,  consider,  desist  and  repent.  The  Lord  have  mercy 
upon  you.  Amen." 

The  sermon  was  preached  to  an  immense  congrega- 
tion. Some  of  those  who  were  most  prominent  in  the 
races,  were  among  his  hearers,  and,  with  an  air  of 
defiance,  took  their  places  directly  in  front  of  him ;  but 
before  the  sermon  was  ended,  they  were  seen  to  quail 
under  his  withering  rebukes.  The  Providence  of  God. 
seemed  to  frown  upon  the  whole  enterprise.  A  vast 
crowd  assembled  to  witness  the  spectacle,  and  the  very- 
first  course  that  was  run,  one  of  the  riders  was  hurled 
from  his  horse,  and  precipitated  into  eternity.  This 
awful  calamity,  however,  only  interrupted  the  races 
long  enough  for  another  rider  to  be  substituted.    While 


45 

the  races  continued  they  were  attended  in  large  meas- 
ure, by  gambling,  drunkenness,  and  other  kindred  vices  ; 
but,  after  the  lapse  of  a  day,  the  leaders  became 
alarmed,  and  before  half  the  period  of  their  intended 
stay  had  expired,  they  fled,  leaving  Elizabethtown  for- 
ever. This  was,  undoubtedly,  in  some  of  its  bearings, 
one  of  the  most  important  incidents  in  Dr.  McDowell's 
whole  history — it  did  more  to  reveal  his  indomitable 
strength  of  purpose,  his  unyielding  fidelity  to  his  own 
convictions,  than  could  have  been  efiected  by  years 
spent  in  the  ordinary  routine  of  quiet  ministerial  labour. 
In  1810,  Mr.  McDowell  was  appointed,  with  his  neigh- 
bour, the  Rev.  James  Richards,  of  Newark,  to  repre- 
sent the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  the  General  Association  of  New  Hampshire.  They 
left  home  together  on  the  3d  of  September,  and  wer3 
fellow  travellers  nearly  the  whole  time  till  they 
returned  at  the  close  of  the  month.  Of  this  tour  a 
minute  and  very  agreeable  account  is  preserved  in  the 
letters  addressed  by  Mr.  McDowell  to  his  wife,  at  brief 
intervals,  during  the  period  of  his  absence.  As  he 
had  travelled  through  the  greater  part  of  this  region 
once  before,  he  had  at  least  a  slight  acquaintance  with 
most  of  the  Congregational  ministers  ;  for  he  adhered 
to  that  good  old  primitive  rule,  so  generally  observed 


46 

in  those  days,  of  availing  himself  of  the  hospitality  of 
his  brethren,  which  no  man  was  more  ready  than  he  to 
reciprocate.  As  New  Canaan,  the  home  of  Mr.  Richards' 
parents,  was  not  far  out  of  their  way,  they  turned 
aside  to  make  a  short  visit  there  ;  and,  though  every 
thing  pertaining  to  the  place  and  the  family  was  sim- 
ple and  unpretending,  the  cordial  welcome  and  the 
genial  and  kindly  manifestations  rendered  Mr.  McDow- 
ell's brief  stay  there  exceedingly  agreeable  to  him.  To 
those  of  us  whose  memory  takes  in  the  Congregational 
ministers  of  that  generation,  who  lived  on  his  route,  it 
is  a  matter  of  no  small  interest  to  find  their  names 
recorded,  in  connection  with  incidental  remarks  illus- 
trative of  what  we  know  to  have  been  their  character- 
istics. At  New  Haven  he  had  the  pleasure  of  spend- 
ing an  hour  or  two  with  Dr.  Dwight,  by  whose  fine 
powers  of  conversation  and  other  attractive  qualities 
he  seems  to  have  been  charmed.  At  one  of  the  minis- 
ter's houses  in  Connecticut,  where  he  stopped,  he 
writes,  in  view  of  the  state  of  things  around  him, — 
"You  find  scarcely  any  servants  in  this  country — every 
one  seems  to  be  his  own  servant — there  is  great  sim- 
plicity and  equality,  and  at  the  same  time  great  hos- 
pitality and  great  information."  The  travellers  pro- 
ceeded on  their  way  together,  calling  upon  Dr.  Strong, 


4t 

Dr.  Yates,  Dr.  McClure,  and  divers  other  Congrega- 
tional worthies,  till  they  had  reached  Long  Meadow, 
where  Mr.  Richards  remained  to  pass  the  Sabbath  with 
Mr.  Storrs,  (grandfather  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Storrs  of 
Brooklyn,)  and  Mr.  McDowell  proceeded  to  Springfield, 
and  stopped  with  Mr.  Osgood,  whose  ministry  there 
had  commenced  the  year  before.  From  Springfield 
they  moved  on  to  Worcester,  where  they  had  a  pleas- 
ant interview  with  Dr.  Austin,  and  thence  proceeded  to 
Boston,  (having  travelled  thus  far  on  horseback,)  and, 
on  their  arrival,  Mr.  McDowell  became  the  guest  of 
Deacon  Thurston,  of  the  Park  Street  Church,  whom  he 
represents  as  living  in  great  splendour,  and  occupying 
a  house  on  Beacon  Hill,  which,  for  beauty  of  situation, 
was  unrivalled  by  any  thing  he  had  ever  seen  or 
expected  to  see.  He  preached  at  Park  Street ;  visited 
the  Athenaeum  and  various  other  places  of  public  inter- 
est ;  and  attended  the  Thursday  Lecture,  and  heard  a 
sermon  from  a  venerable  minister  in  Boston,  long  since 
dead,  which  seems  to  have  been  little  suited  to  his 
taste.  During  his  stay  at  Boston,  he  rode  over  to  Cam- 
bridge, and  took  a  view  of  the  College  and  its  sur- 
roundings, and  was  especially  interested  in  seeing  the 
ancient  portraits,  and  the  philosophical  apparatus, 
and  in  passing  through   the  library.     From  Boston  he 


48 

went  to  Salem,  where  he  stopped  with  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Spalding,  in  whose  congregation  there  had  just  been  a 
powerful  revival  of  religion ;  and,  while  there,  his 
friends  took  him  over  to  Marblehead,  which  he  repre- 
sents, as  many  others  have  done,  as  a  sort  of  episode 
in  creation.  At  Ipswich  he  stopped  long  enough  to 
visit  the  old  burying  ground,  where  he  had  great  inter- 
est in  examining  the  monuments  of  the  early  Puritans, 
the  inscriptions  upon  some  of  which  time  had  rendered 
utterly  illegible.  At  Newburyport  he  preached  for  Dr. 
Spring,  and  was  very  hospitably  entertained  by  Mr. 
Bartlett,  the  well-known  benefactor  of  the  Andover 
Seminary,  whom  he  seems  to  have  considered  a  very 
rare  specimen  of  humanity — among  other  things,  he 
states  that  Mr.  B.,  about  that  time,  had  had  two  ships 
taken  by  the  French,  which  were  worth  not  less  than 
two  hundred  thousand  dollars  ;  and  that  he  did  not 
seem  to  feel  it  more  than  an  ordinary  man  would  have 
felt  the  loss  of  twenty  dollars.  At  Exeter,  N.  H.,  his 
next  stopping  place,  was  the  meeting  of  the  General 
Association,  which  it  was  his  main  object  to  attend. 
Here,  on  the  21st  of  September,  he  addressed  the  fol- 
lowing letter  to  his  wife. 

My  dear  "WIFE  : 

It  is  now  noon,  and  the  General  Association  have  not  yet 
risen.     It  is  expected  that  they  will  rise  this  afternoon  ;  so 


49 

that,  if  we  had  made  our  arrang-ements  to  reach  home  on 
Sabbath  week,  it  would  be  impracticable,  even  if  we  should 
have  good  weather  all  the  time.  I  long  to  be  at  home — a 
long  distance  separates  us  ;  but  I  hope  I  shall  reach  you  in 
good  time,  and  find  you  all  in  health,  and  that  we  shall  rejoice 
together  again  in  the  Divine  goodness.  We  left  Newbury- 
port  early  Wednesday  morning  for  this  place,  fifteen  miles 
distant,  and,  after  passing  through  a  pleasant  country,  and 
one  considerable  village,  (Amesbury,)  we  reached  here  at 
half  past  nine  o'clock.  Mr.  Richards  preached  at  eleven. 
The  present  Association  is  small,  consisting  of  only  fourteen 
members  ;  and  only  seven  of  these  belong  to  New  Hamp- 
shire. Two  are  from  the  General  Assembly  ;  two  from  Con- 
necticut ;  two  from  Massachusetts  ;  and  one  from  Vermont. 
The  first  day  we  had  two  sermons  ;  and  yesterday  we  had 
three.  I  preached  last  evening.  It  began  to  rain  just  as  we 
arrived  here,  and  the  rain  has  continued  iminterruptedly  ever 
since.  If  the  Association  rise  thi&  afternoon  in  time,  and  the 
weather  permits,  we  intend  to  go  to  Portsmouth  this  eve- 
ning,— fourteen  miles.  Both  Mr.  Richards  and  myself  are 
very  well.  Exeter  is  a  pleasant  village,  about  half  the  size 
of  Morristown.  We  expect  to  spend  the  Sabbath  at  New- 
buryport,  twenty-four  miles  from  Portsmouth,  on  the  way  to 
Andover  and  Boston.  On  Monday,  we  shall  have  twenty-two 
miles  to  ride  to  Andover.  We  expect  to  remain  there  over 
Tuesday,  and  on  Wednesday  to  set  our  faces  in  good  earnest 
towards  home.  The  state  of  religion  and  of  the  churches  in 
New  Hampshire  is,  at  this  time,  gloomy  enough.  There  is, 
however,  a  revival  now  in  progress  in  this  town,  from  which 
happy  results  are  anticipated.  I  am  stopping  here  with  Mr. 
Rowland,  the  minister  of  the  place.     Mr.  Church*  has  just 

*The  Rev.  Dr.  Church  of  Pelham,  who  had  that  year  been  a  member  of 
the  General  Assembly  at  Philadelphia. 

5 


50 

put  into  my  hands  the  sermon  he  promised  you.     I  shall  close 
this  letter  at  Portsmouth,  if  we  go  there  to-day. 

Saturday  morning,  at  Portsmouth. 
The  Association  broke  up  yesterday  about  three  o'clock, 
and  we  immediately  set  out  for  Poi'tsmouth.  It  is  remarka- 
ble that  there  has  been  no  time  when  we  could  travel,  since 
we  left  home,  that  there  has  been  any  rain.  It  rained  during 
nearly  the  whole  time  we  were  in  Exeter,  and  stopped  not 
more  than  ten  minutes  before  we  wished  to  resume  our  jour- 
ney. We  arrived  here  about  dark.  The  town  is  about  three 
times  as  large  as  Elizabethtown,  and  has  a  general  appear- 
ance of  neatness  and  thrift.  The  towns  generally,  through- 
out this  region,  exhibit  incomparably  more  of  wealth  and  ele- 
gance than  our  towns  do.  After  breakfast,  we  shall  go  out 
and  see  what  is  to  be  seen,  and  shall  cross  the  Piscataqua 
Eiver  into  the  District  of  Maine,  and  then  direct  our  course 
towards  New  Jersey.  We  are  now  at  the  farthest  point  of 
distance  which  we  expect  to  be  from  you.  My  future  letters 
will  be  dated  nearer  and  nearer  home.  I  long  to  hear  from 
you  again  ;  but  have  no  hope  of  receiving  a  letter  until  I 
reach  Boston,  which  cannot  be  before  next  Wednesday.  May 
the  Lord  bless  you,  and  keep  you. 

Your  affectionate  husband, 

JOHN  McDowell. 

p.  S.  Tell  your  father  that,  after  all  the  triumph  of  the 
Federalists  respecting  the  late  election  in  this  State,  for 
members  of  Congress,  it  has  just  been  officially  announced, 
by  the  Governor  and  Council,  who  are  sitting  in  this  town, 
that  there  are  two  Eepublicans  elected,  and  no  election  for 
the  other  three  members. 

Agreeably  to  the  intimation  in  the  preceding  letter, 
they  went,  under  the  conduct  of  Dr.  Buckminster,  at 


51 

whose  house  they  lodged,  to  see  the  lions  of  Portsmouth, 
and  then  crossed  the  Piscataqua  into  Maine  ;  and,  hav- 
ing stood  there  about  two  minutes, — long  enough  to  be 
able  to  say  that  they  had  been  in  that  part  of  the  Yan- 
kee dominion,  they  returned,  and  forthwith  set  their 
faces  towards  the  region  of  the  setting  sun.  At  Hamp- 
ton they  passed  a  pleasant  hour  or  two  with  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Webster,  the  Congregational  minister  of  the  place  ; 
and  while  there,  being  within  two  miles  of  the  celebra- 
ted Hampton  Beach,  they  walked  out  thither,  and  were 
struck  with  awe  by  the  roaring  of  the  breakers,  and 
the  grandeur  of  the  scene  that  opened  upon  them. 
After  making  another  visit  of  a  day  or  two  at  New- 
buryport,  where  they  still  received  the  most  hospitable 
attentions,  they  proceeded  on  their  way  to  Andover, 
and  there  attended  the  annual  examination  of  the  stu- 
dents of  the  Seminary,  and  were  greatly  pleased  with 
every  thing  they  saw  and  heard.  They  stopped  with 
Dr.  GriflSn,  who  had  been  their  neighbour  in  New  Jer- 
sey, and  were  not  a  little  gratified  by  the  opportunity 
of  renewing  their  intercourse  with  him.  They  found 
nearly  sixty  young  men  here,  pursuing  their  theological 
studies  under  circumstances  that  seemed  to  them  most 
auspicious.  Among  them  were  several  of  their  own 
friends  from  New  Jersey,  whom  they  were  glad  to  meet, 


52 

and  they  visited  the  grave  of  one, — Lewis  Le  Conte 
Congar,  of  Newark,  who  had  died  a  short  time  before. 
Dr.  Griffin's  new  house,  built  by  Mr.  Bartlett,  at  an 
expense  of  twenty  thousand  dollars,  and  then  nearly 
finished,  seems  to  have  been  quite  an  object  of  attraction 
to  them.  From  Andover  they  came  to  Boston,  and 
thence  to  Providence,  where  they  remained  only  long 
enough  to  take  a  view  of  the  town,  when  they  passed 
on  homeward  through  Rhode  Island  into  Connecticut. 
The  country  between  Providence  and  Piainfield  Mr. 
McDowell  thought  was,  in  all  respects,  the  most  unat- 
tractive and  dreary  that  he  had  ever  travelled.  A  few 
days  after  this,  an  uninterrupted  and  successful  journey 
brought  him  again  to  his  family  and  his  congregation, 
whom  he  met  with  many  thanksgivings  to  God  for  his 
goodness,  both  to  him  and  to  them,  during  the  period 
of  their  separation. 

Mr.  McDowell  had  now,  for  some  time,  had  a  class  in 
his  congregation,  devoted  to  the  study  of  the  Bible  and 
of  Church  History,  consisting  of  a  large  portion  of  the 
youth  of  both  sexes.  The  following  letter  addressed 
to  them  during  his  absence  on  the  journey  above 
recorded,  shows  the  deep  interest  which  he  felt  in  their 
spiritual  welfare. 


53 

Farmington,  Conn.  Se-iotember  1,  1810. 
My  dear  friends  : 

I  am  now  separated  from  you  about  a  hundred  and  twenty 
miles.  My  health  has  been  uncommonh'-  good  since  I  left 
home,  and  I  have  borne  the  fatigues  of  my  journey  thus  far 
much  better  than  I  had  expected.  I  hope,  through  the  bless- 
ing of  Providence,  my  journey  will  be  beneficial  both  to  my. 
self  and  my  people. 

I  often  think  of  you  in  my  absence,  and  have  no  doubt  you 
think  of  me,  and  I  trust  we  are  not  unmindful  of  each  other 
in  our  addresses  at  the  throne  of  grace.  I  love  all  my  peo- 
ple, but  I  hardly  need  tell  you  that  to  you  I  am  particularly 
attached.  I  hope  I  feel  sincerely  grateful  to  God,  who  led 
me  to  establish  the  institution  to  which  you  belong  ;  for  I  am 
confident  that  it  has  already  been  highly  beneficial  to  some 
of  you.  Knowledge  is  of  very  great  importance  in  religion  ; 
and  I  doubt  whether  persons  grow  in  grace  any  faster  than 
they  grow  in  knowledge  of  the  truths  of  God's  word.  Igno- 
rance, so  far  from  being  the  mother  of  devotion,  has  been, 
and  still  is,  the  parent  of  error  and  delusion  ;  and  it  is  for 
want  of  knowledge,  most  frequently,  that  so  many  in  the 
Christian  Church,  and  some  of  them  the  real  people  of  God, 
are  so  unstable,  being  constantly  driven  about  by  every  wind 
of  doctrine.  But,  my  dear  friends,  there  is  danger  on  the 
other  hand,  against  which  you  will  need  to  be  constantly  on 
your  guard — knowledge  puffeth  up — and,  the  more  of  knowl- 
edge you  obtain,  the  more  humility  will  you  need  to  keep  you 
right.  Besides,  you  are  in  danger  of  running  too  deeply  into 
speculations  on  Divine  truth,  and  of  seeking  after  explana- 
tions of  those  things  which  are  above  our  comprehension. 
The  Scriptures  were  not  intended  to  make  us  philosophers, 
but  to  amend  our  hearts  and  our  conduct.  Let  us  then  ever 
seek  after  Divine  truth,  resolved  to  receive  it  implicitly,  without 
*5 


54 

being  too  curious  to  pry  into  those  mysteries  which,  with  our 
present  partially  developed  faculties,  God  never  intended  we 
should  imderstand.  You  have,  for  some  time  past,  been 
studying  the  History  of  the  Church.  This  body  has  been 
essentially  the  same  in  all  ages  ;  and  it  is  still  the  same  as 
in  the  ages  through  whose  history  you  have  passed.  It  is 
built  on  the  foundation  of  the  Apostles  and  Prophets,  Jesus 
Christ  Himself  being  the  chief  corner  stone.  Though  it  is 
now  in  a  militant  state,  it  will,  by  and  by,  be  in  a  triumphant 
state  in  the  Heavenly  world.  There  it  will  be  perfectly  pure, 
and  none  will  belong  to  it  but  those  who  have  been  washed 
from  their  sins  in  the  Redeemer's  blood.  Let  it  be  your  care, 
my  dear  friends,  that  you  are  washed  in  this  gracious  and  puri- 
fying fountain,  that  you  may  enter  in  through  the  gates  into 
the  city  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  and  join  the  General  Assem- 
bly and  Church  of  the  first  born.  This  is  a  precious  hope  ; 
and  this  hope  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  most  of  you  cher- 
ish. But  alas  !  I  have  to  fear  for  some  of  you  ;  to  fear  that 
you  are  yet  strangers  to  the  regenerating  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  The  strongest  wish  of  my  heart  concerning  you,  my 
dear  frends,  is  that  you  may  all  become  united  to  Christ  by  a 
living  faith  ;  and  being  thus  united  to  Him,  I  long  to  see  you 
all  joined  to  his  Church  in  a  public  covenant.  It  is  a  painful 
thought  to  me  that  any  one  of  your  society,  in  which  so  much 
love  and  harmony  has  prevailed,  and  whose  members  have  so 
often  come  together  to  talk  about  the  things  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God,  should  be  separated  from  the  rest,  when  they  go  to 
join  the  happy  society  of  the  redeemed.  I  confess  that  my 
eyes  fill  with  tears  while  I  write  on  this  subject,  and  think  of 
some  of  you  who  are  most  amiable  in  your  natural  disposi- 
tion, and  yet,  as  I  have  reason  to  fear,  strangers  to  the  living 
faith  in  Christ.  To  such  I  would  say  :  Give  yourselves  no 
rest  until  you  find  it  in  the  Lord  Jesus.     Go  to  Him,  and  you 


55 

will  find  Him  at  once  able  and  willing  to  save.     Eemember 
me,  my  dear  friends,  at  the  throne  of  grace.     May  the  Lord 
be  with  you,  and  bless  you  with  all  needed  temporal  blessings, 
but,  above  all,  may  He  make  you  the  heirs  of  eternal  life. 
Your  affectionate  Friend  and  Pastor. 

In  1812,  the  General  Assembly,  having  determined 
to  establish  a  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  Mr. 
McDowell  was  chosen  one  of  the  first  Directors.  In 
1825,  he  was  appointed  a  Trustee  of  the  same  institu- 
tion.    Both  of  these  offices  he  held  till  the  close  of  life. 

The  next  noticeable  event  in  the  history  of  Mr.  Mc- 
DowelPs  ministry  was  a  revival  of  great  power,  which 
commenced  in  December,  1812.  It  was  on  a  Communion 
Sabbath,  when  there  had  been  nothing  specially  exci- 
ting in  the  preaching,  and,  so  far  as  was  known,  no 
peculiar  interest  awakened  on  the  part  of  the  Church. 
It  was  not  till  the  close  of  the  day,  when  several  called 
upon  the  Pastor,  in  great  distress,  to  inquire  what  they 
should  do  to  be  saved,  that  he  knew  that  there  were  any 
special  tokens  of  God's  gracious  presence  among  them ; 
though  it  subsequently  appeared  that  not  less  than 
thirty  who  joined  the  church  were  awakened  on  that 
day.  And  it  was  a  somewhat  remarkable  circumstance 
that  the  same  powerful  influence  was  experienced  on 
the  same  day  in  both  of  the  Presbyterian  churches  in 
the  neighbouring  town  of  Newark — it  being  Communion 


56 

season  also  in  both  those  churches.  This  revival  in 
Elizabethtown  continued  about  a  year,  and  resulted  in 
an  addition  to  the  church  of  a  hundred  and  ten  mem- 
bers. The  following  is  Mr.  McDowell's  own  account  of 
it. 

"The  subjects  of  this  revival  generally  were  deeply  and 
long  distressed,  and,  in  many  instances,  their  distress  aflfected 
their  bodily  frames.  Frequently  sobbing  aloud  was  heard  in 
our  meetings,  and,  in  some  instances,  there  was  a  universal 
trembling,  and,  in  others,  a  privation  of  bodily  strength,  so 
that  the  subjects  were  not  able  to  go  home  without  help.  In 
this  respect,  this  revival  was  different  from  any  other  which 
I  have  witnessed.  I  never  dared  to  speak  against  this  bodily 
agitation,  lest  I  should  be  found  speaking  against  the  Holy 
Ghost  ;  but  I  never  did  any  thing  to  encourage  it.  It  may 
be  proper  here  to  relate  one  case  of  a  young  man,  who  was 
then  a  graduate  of  one  of  our  colleges,  and  is  now  a  very 
respectable  and  useful  minister  of  Christ.  Near  the  com- 
mencement of  the  revival,  he  was  led,  for  the  first  time, 
reluctantly,  and  out  of  complaisance  to  his  sister,  to  a  meet- 
ing in  a  private  house.  I  was  present,  and  spoke,  two  or 
three  times,  between  prayers  in  which  some  of  my  people  led. 
The  audience  was  solemn,  but  perfectly  still.  I  commenced 
leading  in  the  concluding  prayer.  A  suppressed  sob  reached 
my  ears — it  continued  and  increased.  I  brought  the  prayer 
speedily  to  a  close,  and  cast  my  eyes  over  the  audience,  when, 
behold  it  was  this  careless,  proud  young  man,  who  was 
standing  near  me,  leaning  on  his  chair,  sobbing  and  trembling 
in  every  part,  like  the  Philippian  jailor.  He  raised  his  eyes 
towards  me,  and  then  tottered  forward,  threw  his  arms  on  my 
shoulders,  and  cried  out  *  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  ? '    A 


57 

scene  ensued,  the  like  of  which  I  never  witnessed.  The 
house  was  full,  and  there  was  immediately,  by  the  power  of 
sympathy,  I  suppose,  a  univei-sal  sobbing  throughout  the 
assembly.  He  repeatedly  begged  me  to  pray  for  him.  I  felt 
so  overcome  with  the  solemnity  of  the  scene,  and  fearful  of 
the  disorder  which  might  ensue  in  the  excited  state  of  feeling, 
that  I  held  this  trembling  young  man  for  half  an  hour,  with- 
out speaking  a  word.  I  then  persuaded  him  to  go  home  with 
me,  and  the  audience  to  retire.  His  strength  was  so  weak- 
ened that  he  had  to  be  supported.  From  that  hour  he 
appeared  to  give  his  whole  soul  to  the  subject  of  religion.  He 
continued  in  a  state  of  deep  anxiety  and  distress  for  nearly 
two  months,  when  he  settled  down  in  a  peaceful  state  of  mind, 
hoping  in  the  Saviour. 

In  October,  1814,  Mr.  McDowell  set  out  on  his  first 
begging  tour  in  behalf  of  the  Princeton  Theological 
Seminary.  The  field  in  which  he  operated  was  partly 
in  New  Jersey  and  partly  in  Pennsylvania;  and, 
though  he  was,  on  the  whole,  very  successful,  he  was 
not  a  little  embarrassed  in  his  movements  by  the 
threatened  invasion  by  the  British  of  some  of  the 
towns  he  had  intended  to  visit.  The  following  to  Mrs. 
McDowell,  dated  Bridgetown,  November  12,  1814, 
reveals  at  once  the  intense  interest  he  felt  in  his  object, 
and  the  unpropitious  state  of  things  under  which  he 
prosecuted  it. 

My  Dear  Wife  : 

You  will  probably  be  surprised,  possibly  rejoiced,  to  find 
that  I  am  still  in  this  place.     When  I  put  your  letter  in  the 


58 

office  on  Thursday  evening,  I  expected  to  set  out  for  the 
Cape  next  morning  in  company  with  Mrs.  Giles  ;  but  the 
Cape  May  stage  arrived  shortly  after,  and  brought  me  such 
intelligence  as  caused  me  to  postpone,  if  not  altogether 
relinquish,  my  visit  there.  The  inhabitants  were  in  a  con- 
stant state  of  alarm,  and  frequently  all  were  under  arms. 
Those  in  the  lower  part  were  moving  off  their  valuable 
effects,  and  some  of  them  their  families  ;  and  the  British  had 
burnt  a  schooner  on  the  beach,  and  had  had  a  skirmish  of  an 
hour  with  our  people.  In  this  state  of  things,  after  consult- 
ing with  my  friends  in  this  place,  I  concluded  not  to  go. 
Indeed  it  would  have  been  in  vain  as  it  respects  my  object ; 
for  the  people  could  not  attend  to  it.  I  shall  avail  myself  of 
some  opportunity  to  come  back  to  this  place  when  the  times 
become  settled.  My  health  is  very  good.  General  Giles  has 
treated  me  with  very  great  hospitality.  Providence  secures 
to  me  kind  friends  wherever  I  go,  and  I  hope  I  may  ever 
have  a  disposition  to  treat  strangers  with^the  same  kindness 
that  is  shown  to  myself.  I  have  succeeded,  in  respect  to  the 
object  of  my  mission,  far  beyond  my  expectations.  I  have 
got  subscribed  in  Woodbury  124  dollars  ;  in  Greenwich  69  ; 
and  Bridgeton  219  ;  making  a  total  of  412  dollars.  More 
than  400  of  this  I  have  actually  received.  If  every  part  of 
the  Church  responds  as  liberally  as  this  has  done,  the  Semi- 
nary will  not  want  for  means  of  support.  I  expect  that 
something  more  will  be  subscribed  in  each  of  the  places  I 
have  visited,  by  persons  whom  I  was  not  able  to  see.  Your 
affectionate  husband,  JOHN  McDOWELL. 

In  a  letter  to  Mrs.  McDowell,  written  one  week  later, 
be  refers  again  to  the  disturbed  state  of  the  country, 
and  withal  gives  us  a  clue  to  his  own  political  predi- 
lections. 


59 

"  It  was  well  that  I  did  not  go  to  Cape  May,  Last  Saturday 
a  number  of  cattle  were  taken  off,  and  on  Tuesday  there  was  a 
severe  engagement.  A  privateer  was  chased  to  the  shore, 
and  was  run  on  the  beach.  The  British  barges  attempted  to 
destroy  her,  and  the  crew  and  the  people  of  the  Cape  defended 
her.  Our  people  finally  succeeded  in  driving  off  the  barges, 
and  will  probably  get  out  the  guns  and  the  stores  of  the  pri- 
vateer, but  the  vessel  will  be  lost.  I  need  not  suggest  to 
you  the  vital  importance  of  economy  in  expenditure  in  these 
embarassing  and  troublous  times.  And  I  fear  we  have  not 
yet,  by  any  means,  seen  the  end  of  our  national  troubles. 
Our  country,  it  appears  to  me,  is  on  the  brink  of  ruin  ;  and 
I  see  not  how  either  individual  or  national  bankruptcy  is  to 
be  averted,  if  the  present  ruinous  measures  are  persevered 
in.  And  yet  the  people  will  not  believe  it,  and  apply  the 
only  remedy,  which,  under  Providence,  appears  to  be  left  for 
us, — giving  those  leaders  leave  to  retire,  who  have  brought 
us  into  these  difiBculties,  and  are  either  too  weak  or  too 
wicked  to  change  their  ruinous  course.  The  eyes  of  the  pub- 
lic must  eventually  be  opened;  but  I  greatly  fear  that  it  will 
be  too  late  to  preserve  the  nation  from  ruin." 

To   His  Mother. 

Elizabethtown,  March  16,  1815. 
My  Dear  Mother  : 

I  did  not  hear  of  your  illness  until  I  heard  you  were  get- 
ting better,  else  I  should  have  gone  up  to  see  you  while  the 
travelling  was  yet  good  ;  and  my  intention  now  is  to  make 
you  a  visit  as  soon  as  the  roads  have  become  tolerable.  We 
live,  my  dear  mother,  in  a  world  of  trial,  but  we  are  making 
a  rapid  passage  through  it,  and  shall  soon  bid  it  adieu  for- 
ever. May  your  trials  here  be  the  means  of  ripening  you  for 
the  future  world  of  glory.  It  is  a  great  consolation,  amidst 
the  sufferings  to  which  we  are  subjected,  to  realize  that  the 


60 

Lord  reignetli,  and  that  diseases  are  his  servants,  and  sent 
by  his  appointment  ;  and  still  greater  to  have  a  humble  hope 
that  this  God  is  our  Father,  who  knoweth  what  is  best,  and 
will  do  what  is  best,  for  us.  Precious  is  the  thought  that  we 
have  an  interest  in  the  blessed  promises  of  God's  word,  and 
that  we  are  privileged  to  plead  them  and  appropriate  them 
to  ourselves.  All  this,  I  trust,  you  know  from  happy  experi- 
ence. And  may  your  knowledge  of  it  become  still  more  deep 
and  experimental,  until  you  are  discharged  from  this  state  of 
warfare,  and  received  where  the  inhabitants  shall  no  more 
say,  I  am  sick  ;  where  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from 
their  eyes  ;  and  there  shall  be  no  more  death,  nor  sorrow, 
nor  crying,  nor  pain  ;  and  where  especially  there  shall  be  no 
more  sin,  which  is  now  the  Christian's  greatest  burden  and 
greatest  enemy.  And  it  is  a  yet  further  precious  considera- 
tion that,  if  we  are  of  the  people  of  God,  our  afflictions  here, 
comparatively  light  and  for  a  moment,  are  working  out  for 
us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory. 

It  has  pleased  the  Lord,  since  I  saw  you,  in  very  great 
mercy,  to  restore  the  blessing  of  peace  to  our  land.  There 
has  been  great  rejoicing  over  the  event  in  this  part  of  the 
country,  and  indeed  I  may  say  in  every  part  of  it.  The  news 
first  reached  me  on  the  Sabbath,  between  the  morning  and 
afternoon  services.  I  announced  it  from  the  pulpit  before 
prayer  in  the  afternoon,  and  then  returned  thanks  to  God  for 
this  wonderful  interposition  on  our  behalf  It  was  pecu- 
liarly gratifying  to  me  that  we  were  in  a  situation  in  which 
our  first  feelings  of  joy  were  expressed  in  an  offering  of  gra- 
titude and  praise  to  God  in  his  house.  And  then  again  on 
the  day  that  we  received  the  news  of  the  ratification  from 
Washington,  we  assembled  in  the  church  at  two  o'clock,  and 
renewed  our  thanksgivings  to  our  Gracious  Benefactor.  As 
soon  as  we  came  out  of  church,  the  cannon  was  fired  eigh- 
teen times  ;  after  which  the  bells  rung  for  one  hour.  In  the 
evening  the  whole  town  was  splendidly  illuminated. 


61 

We  are  at  present  in  considerable  clifficnlty  in  our  attempts 
to  enforce  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath.  The  wicked  among 
ourselves  have  risen  in  violent  opposition.  What  the  result 
may  be  I  know  not  ;  but  I  trust  the  Lord  will  show  us  the 
path  of  duty-,  and  give  us  grace  to  persevere  in  it. 

Your  son,  JOHN  McDOWELL. 

The  following  extract  of  a  letter  from  Mrs.  Alfred 
Chester,  dated  June  5,  1863,  presents  an  outline  of  the 
early  history  of  the  Sabbath  School  in  Elizabethtown, 
— an  institution  in  which,  from  the  beginning.  Dr.  Mc- 
Dowell took  the  deepest  interest. 

"  The  first  Sabbath  School  in  Elizabethtown  was  formed  in 
1814.  With  great  caution  was  the  enterprise  undertaken 
lest  it  might  not  be  popular.  A  few  ladies  called  on  the  pa- 
rents of  prominent  and  influential  families  to  ascertain  their 
opinion  and  secure  their  co-operation.  Finding  it  met  with 
the  approbation  of  all  classes  and  denominations,  a  Sabbath 
School  was  opened  in  the  room  now  used  as  the  Sabbath 
School  room  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  then  occupied 
as  a  school  room  by  Miss  Gorham,  the  whole  building  being 
a  Public  Academy.  At  that  time  there  were  but  three 
\;hurches  in  the  town  ;  the  Presbyterian,  under  the  pastorate 
of  the  Rev.  John  McDowell  ;  an  Episcopal  (St.  Johns),  of 
which  the  Rev.  John  C.  Rudd  was  Rector  ;  and  a  Methodist, 
sustained  chiefly  by  the  Pastor  himself, — the  Rev.  Thomas 
Morrell.  The  three  denominations,  with  great  harmony,  com- 
menced Sabbath  School  instruction  under  the  care  of  the  Free 
School  Association  of  Elizabethtown,  electing  as  their  first 
Superintendent  Miss  Maria  Smith.  At  the  same  time  was 
commenced  a  Sabbath  School  among  the  coloured  people,  by 
Mr.  Witherspoon,  of  North  Carolina,  then  a  student  of 
Divinity  under  Mr.  McDowell.  All  ages  flocked  to  it,  and 
6 


62 

gladly  improved  the  opportunity  of  gaining  instruction,  and 
several,  at  an  advanced  age,  learned  to  read  the  Word  of  life. 
At  the  end  of  a  year,  the  school  at  the  Academy  had  increased 
80  rapidly  that  the  room  was  too  small  to  accommodate  all, 
and  it  was  decided  that  each  church  should  have  its  school ; 
and  with  great  kindness  of  feeling  they  separated,  teachers 
and  scholars  going  to  the  church  and  school  of  their  own 
choice." 

"When  the  Spruce  Street  Church  in  Philadelphia  was 
established,  in  1815,  Mr.  McDowell  was  called  to  be  its 
Pastor.  He  declined  the  call,  however,  as  he  had  done 
those  which  had  preceded,  hoping  and  expecting  to 
spend  his  entire  ministerial  life  among  the  people  who 
then  constituted  his  pastoral  charge. 

The  following  letter  was  addressed  to  his  brother- 
in-law,  Mr.  Shepard  Kollock,  then  a  student  of  The- 
ology under  the  direction  of  his  brother.  Dr.  Henry 
Kollock,  at  Savannah  : — 

Elizabethtown,  February  5,  1815. 
My  Dear  Brother: 

I  ought  to  have  written  to  you  before  this  time,  but  the 
multiplicity  of  my  engagements  must  be  my  apology.  The 
state  of  religion  here  is  much  as  it  was  when  you  left 
us  ;  though,  if  there  has  been  any  change,  I  hope  it  has  been 
for  the  better.  Some  few  are  under  serious  impressions. 
The  revival  in  Morristown  is  still  in  progress  ;  and  in 
Springfield  also  thei^e  is  now  very  considerable  attention. 
You  have  probably  heard  that,  since  the  first  of  January, 
appearances  have  again  been  very  encouraging  in  Princeton 
College.     The   College  appeared,   for    some  weeks,   to  be 


63 

deeply  solemn,  and  the  serious  students  were  calculating 
with  much  confidence  on  a  revival  ;  but  lately  I  understand 
the  prospects  have  become  less  encouraging.  The  Theologi- 
cal Seminary  is  in  a  very  flourishing  state — the  number  of 
students  is  forty-three. 

You  have  heard  of  the  death  of  Dr.  Roe,  of  Woodbridge, 
and  also  probably  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Armstrong,  of  Tren- 
ton. The  people  of  Woodbridge  are,  I  understand,  to  meet 
to-day  with  a  view  of  trying  the  question  whether  they  are 
prepared  to  make  a  call.  Mr.  Mills,  of  Morristown,  I  expect, 
will  be  their  man.  Mr.  Witherspoon  has  been  applied  to 
with  an  intimation  that,  if  he  would  give  them  encourage- 
ment, they  would  wait  for  him  ;  but  he  has  put  an  absolute 
negative  on  their  application,  having  his  face  fixed  for  the 
South,  I  dare  not  advise  him  to  stay,  though  it  would  well 
agree  with  my  feelings  to  have  him  do  so.  The  wants  of  the 
South  are  much  greater  than  those  of  this  region. 

The  Sunday  School  establishment,  in  the  formation  of  which, 
to  your  lasting  honour,  you  had  so  much  agency,  continues  to 
flourish.  In  November  last,  as  you  have  probably  seen  in  the 
papers,  an  Association  was  formed  for  the  support  of  Sunday 
Schools.  Among  the  coloured  people,  committing  the  Scrip- 
tures to  memory  has  lately  been  made  an  exercise  ;  and  it  is 
truly  astonishing  how  much  some  of  them  will  recite  at  a 
single  lesson.  Yesterday  week  Mr.  Palmer's  Mary  recited  a 
hundred  and  eighty-seven  verses  in  the  Gospel  by  John.  The 
Directors  of  the  Association  have  established  a  Sunday  School 
also  for  white  female  children.  This  school  has  five  teachers, 
and  each  teacher  an  assistant,  and  it  numbers  a  hundred  and 
thirty  scholars.  Those  who  cannot  read  are  taught  to  read  ; 
and  those  who  can  read  occupy  their  time  in  reading  the  Bible, 
and  reciting  the  Catechism  and  portions  of  Scripture. 

Your  father  talks  seriously  of  removing  to  Carolina.  When 
I  see  him  set  out,  then  I  will  believe  he  is  going.     I  hope  you 


64 

will  endeavour  to  get  back  by  the  time  of  the  meeting-  of  the 
Presbytery,  (fourth  Monday  in  April,)  that  you  may  then  be 
licensed. 

I  remain  your  affectionate  brother, 

JOHN  McDowell. 

In  1815,  the  General  Assembly  appointed  agents  to 
solicit  funds  in  aid  of  the  Theological  Seminary.  Mr. 
McDowell  was  associated  in  this  service  with  the  Rev. 
William  Latta,  within  the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Philadelphia.  They  went  to  Philadelphia  about  the 
close  of  October,  and  remained  some  two  weeks,  con- 
fining their  applications  chiefly,  if  not  entirely,  to  two 
churches  in  tlie  city.  From  these  churches  they 
obtained  6,200  dollars,  4,200  of  which  were  in  response 
to  the  applications  of  Mr.  McDowell.  It  was  consid- 
ered a  noble  contribution. 

To  Mr.  Shepard  Kollock. 

Elizabethtown,  March  11,  1816. 
My  dear  brother, 

I  have  received  your  letter  and  hasten  to  answer  it.  Your 
mother  has  been  very  ill, — at  the  very  borders  of  the  grave, 
but  I  am  happy  to  inform  you  she  is  now  almost  entirely  recov- 
ered. You  have  probably  heard  from  some  of  the  family  that 
she  fell  on  the  kitchen  piazza,  and  ruptured  a  blood  vessel  in 
her  stomach.  She  did  not  apprehend  any  thing  serious  until, 
after  some  days,  she  was  taken  with  raising  blood  in  large 
quantities.  She  became,  in  consequence,  exceedingly  weak, 
and  one  night  we  were  about  her  bed  for  several  hours,  under 


65 

the  impression  that  death  had  actually  begun  its  work.  It 
has,  however,  pleased  a  kind  Providence  to  raise  her  up,  and 
we  trust  she  may  be  spared  a  little  longer  to  us.  It  is 
expected  that  she  will  go  on  with  Mr.  Witherspoon  and  his 
family  to  North  Carolina,  in  May,  and  pass  the  summer  there. 

The  Sunday  Schools,  both  the  black  and  the  female,  con- 
tinue and  flourish.  You  have  probably  seen  that  they  have 
become  quite  engaged  in  this  business  in  New  York.  There 
has  been  for  some  time  a  considerable  revival  in  Mr.  Spring's 
church.  New  York;  and  I  am  happy  to  be  able  to  add  that  a 
similar  state  of  things  has  also  commenced  in  Philadelphia.  It 
began  six  weeks  since,  in  Mr.  Patterson's  congregation,  North- 
ern Liberties.  When  I  heard  from  there  last  week,  it  was  sup- 
posed that  the  number  of  the  awakened  and  inquiring  in  that 
congregation  was  a  hundred  and  fifty.  About  three  weeks 
since,  the  revival  made  its  appearance  also  in  Arch  Street 
Church,  and  they  are  now  enjoying  a  very  solemn  and  iiiterest- 
ing  season.  Mr.  Skinner  is  much  engaged,  and  is  evidently 
growing  in  public  favour.  We  have  nothing  special  in  our 
region,  except  at  Morristown  and  Spi'ingfield.  Mr.  Henry 
Mills  has  accepted  a  call  from  Woodbridge. 

Miss  Gorham  has  rented  the  house  in  which  Mr.  Wither- 
spoon lives,  and  intends  taking  a  number  of  young  ladies  to 
board  with  her.  Her  two  sisters  will  be  associated  with 
her, — one  of  them  to  assist  her  in  the  school,  the  other  to 
take  charge  of  the  family.  I  would  take  it  as  a  favour  if  you 
would  interest  yourself  among  your  acquaintances  to  procure 
boarders  for  her.  You  know  her  great  worth  and  excellence 
as  a  teacher,  and  will  doubtless  agree  with  me  in  the  opinion 
that  her  school  is  not  inferior  to  any  other  in  the  State.  She 
is  an  admirable  disciplinarian  as  well  as  a  most  competent 
teacher. 

Believe  me  your  affectionate  brother, 

JOHN  McDowell. 

*6 


66 

Towards  the  close  of  the  year  1816,  a  steamboat 
company  determined  to  run  their  boat  from  Elizabeth- 
town  to  New  York  on  the  Sabbath.  At  this  Mr. 
McDowell  was  sorely  grieved,  and  the  rather  as  he 
found  that  the  enterprise  was  encouraged  and  sustained 
by  a  leading  member  of  his  congregation,  who  had 
always  been  considered  decidedly  friendly  to  morality 
and  religion,  who  occupied  a  high  place  in  civil  society, 
and  who  withal  was  one  of  his  most  generous  and  devo- 
ted friends.  As  soon  as  the  youthful  Pastor  became 
apprized  of  what  was  doing,  he  addressed  a  letter  (a 
copy  of  which  is  still  in  existance)  to  the  gentleman  re- 
ferred to,  which,  for  judiciousness,  earnestness,  ten- 
derness, and  unshrinking  fidelity,  I  have  rarely  seen 
equalled.  The  effort  was  not  unavailing ;  and  the  evil 
complained  of  was  arrested. 

The  year  181*7  was  another  year  signalized,  in  Mr. 
McDowell's  ministry,  as  a  year  of  the  right  hand  of  the 
Most  High.  It  was  my  privilege,  being  then  a  student 
in  the  Princeton  Seminary,  to  pass  a  few  days  with 
him  during  this  period,  including  a  Communion 
Sabbath,  when,  if  my  memory  serves  me,  about  eighty 
were  admitted  to  the  Church.  The  sermon  which  he 
preached  on  the  occasion  was  from  the  text,  "  Who  are 
these  that  fly  as  a  cloud  and  as  doves   to   their  win- 


67 

dows?"  It  was  at  once  liiglily  appropriate  and  impres- 
sive ;  but  it  seemed  as  if  we  had  not  more  than  half 
comprehended  the  meaning  of  the  text  until  we  saw 
the  throng  of  candidates  for  admission  coming  forth  to 
fill  up  the  aisles  of  the  venerable  old  church.  Dr. 
Romeyn  and  Dr.  McLelland,  then  of  New  York,  partici- 
pated in  the  service ;  and,  as  the  whole  scene  comes 
up  to  my  memory  now,  it  seems  to  me  to  have  dimin- 
ished the  distance  between  earth  and  Heaven  quite  as 
much  as  any  thing  I  ever  witnessed.  This  revival  con- 
tinued about  a  year,  and,  as  the  fruit  of  it,  one  hund- 
red and  eighty  were  admitted  to  the  church. 

The  following  letter,  addressed  to  the  Rev.  Jonathan 
Freeman,  of  Bridgeton,  N.  J.,  while  the  revival  was  yet 
in  progress,  presents  a  very  satisfactory  view  of  its 
origin  and  general  character. 

Elizabethtown,  July  8,  1817. 
Rev.  and  Dear  Sir: 

I  promised  you  an  account  of  the  glorious  work  of  God  in 
this  place,  and,  but  for  my  manifold  engagements  in  connec- 
tion with  it,  my  promise  would  have  been  fulfilled  at  an 
earlier  date.  Several  times  during  the  fall,  there  appeai-ed 
to  be  an  increased  attention  to  religion  amongst  us,  and  our 
hopes  were  proportionally  raised,  only,  however,  to  be  blast- 
ed.  About  the  middle  of  December,  a  revival  commenced  in 
Dr.  Richards'  church  at  Newark,  but,  for  several  weeks  after 
this,  my  people  continued  in  a  state  of  apparent  indifference. 
In  the  latter  part  of  January,  some  few  Christians  appeared 


68 

to  be  quickened  to  an  earnest  desire  that  God's  work  might 
be  revived.  On  the  last  Friday  evening  in  January,  I  lec- 
tured, as  usual,  in  our  session  house;  but,  though  the  evening 
was  pleasant,  my  audience  was  very  small.  At  the  close  of 
the  lecture,  I  made  a  few  remarks  on  the  state  of  things 
amongst  us  as  compared  with  that  in  Newark,  and  appointed 
a  meeting  for  professors  the  next  evening,  with  a  view  to 
united  and  fervent  prayer  for  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  in 
the  midst  of  us.  At  that  meeting  there  were  present  about  one 
hundred  professors  of  religion.  It  was  an  evening  of  solemn 
self-searching,  of  confession,  humiliation,  and  earnest  suppli- 
cation. The  next  day,  which  was  the  Sabbath,  it  was  evi- 
dent that  an  unusual  solemnity  rested  upon  the  congrega- 
tion. I  announced,  at  the  close  of  the  second  service,  that 
the  Session  would  spend  the  next  afternoon  together  in  prayer 
for  a  revival  of  religion,  which,  indeed,  was  only  the  repeti- 
tion of  an  appointment  made  about  a  week  before.  At  the 
same  time,  I  requested  all  who  desired  to  see  God's  work  re- 
vived to  retire  at  four  o'clock  into  their  closets,  and  unite  with 
the  Session  for  half  an  hour  in  prayer.  The  Session  met  — 
and  a  very  solemn  meeting  it  was  —  and  I  believe  there 
were  many,  at  the  same  time,  in  their  closets.  That  evening 
was  the  Monthly  Concert  of  Prayer;  but,  though  it  was  un- 
commonly full  and  solemn,  I  did  not  know  that  there  was  a 
single  person  specially  impressed.  The  next  evening  I  at- 
tended a  meeting  in  a  private  house.  Here  the  power  of  the 
Lord  was  visibly  manifested,  and  many  were  in  tears;  and 
these,  when  I  dismissed  the  people,  continued  standing  and 
weeping.  After  conversing  with  a  few  of  them,  I  left  the 
place,  and  had  scarcely  reached  my  house,  when  I  was  sent 
for  to  go  to  the  house  of  a  lady  who  keeps  a  Female  Board- 
ing School.  I  found  her  whole  family,  about  twenty  in  num- 
ber, so  deeply  wrought  upon  that  they  were  sobbing  aloud. 
I  said  a  few  words  to  them,  offered  a  prayer,  and  came  away. 


69 

This  burst  of  feeling,  which  continued  during  the  next  day, 
commenced  while  a  chapter  was  being  read,  preparatory  to 
family  prayers;  none  of  the  family  had  been  at  meeting  that 
evening,  except  two  sisters  of  the  Principal  of  the  school, 
and  they  had  not  yet  gone  into  the  room.  The  next  evening 
was  the  meeting  of  my  Bible  Class.  A  large  number  of 
yomig  people  were  present,  and  before  the  exercises  closed, 
they  were  almost  all  weeping  aloud.  From  this  time  the 
work  spread  rapidly,  until  it  had  reached  every  neighbour- 
hood in  the  congregation.  At  every  meeting,  (and  there  was 
one  every  night,)  the  arrows  of  conviction  flew  thick,  and 
new  cases  of  awakening  daily  occurred.  The  next  week 
after  it  began,  I  appointed  a  meeting  solely  for  the  awakened, 
to  converse  and  pray  with,  and  exhort  them.  The  first  week 
fifty  attended;  the  second,  a  hundred;  the  third,  two  hundred; 
and  the  fourth,  four  hundred.  This  was  about  the  highest 
number  that  attended  this  meeting  at  any  one  time.  As  the 
bounds  of  my  congregation  are  very  extensive,  few  of  the 
subjects  from  the  country  could  attend  this  meeting;  so  that 
I  have  supposed  that  if  all  equally  impressed  with  those  who 
attended  had  been  there,  the  number  would  not  have 
fallen  short  of  six  hundred.  Many  of  these,  however,  were 
very  young,  say  from  ten  to  fourteen;  and  many  of  them,  I 
have  no  doubt,  were  affected  merely  from  sympathy.  The 
work  has  proceeded  with  great  silence.  Except  in  one  or 
two  evenings  at  the  commencement,  scarcely  an  instance  of 
audible  weeping  has  occurred.  The  coloured  people  have 
largely  shared  in  the  blessing;  and  they  have  evidently  been 
prepared  for  it,  chiefly  through  the  influence  of  the  Sunday 
School. 

The  season  of  distress  has,  in  many  instances,  been 
uuusally  short,  and  the  terrors  of  remorse  have  yielded 
almost  immediately  to  the  peace  that  passeth  understanding. 
The  greater  number  of  subjects  have  been  persons  in  the 


70 

morning  of  life,  though  there  have  been  some  of  all  ages. 
Almost  all  the  youth  who  have  attended  my  catechetical  and 
biblical  instructions  give  evidence  of  having  experienced  the 
saving  change.  Not  a  small  number  of  children  also,  are, 
we  trust,  the  subjects  of  a  genuine  conversion.  And,  I  must 
add,  the  riches  of  Divine  grace  have  been  signally  manifested 
in  bringing  into  the  dust  some  persons  of  the  most  profligate 
and  abandoned  character.  The  work  still  continues,  and 
since  my  return  from  Philadelphia,  a  number  of  new  instances 
of  awakening  have  occurred.  On  the  fourth  Sabbath  in 
June,  we  had  our  communion  —  seventy-seven  were  received 
as  the  first  fruits  —  we  still  expect  a  glorious  harvest. 
I  hope  the  good  work  prospers  among  your  own  people. 
Your  affectionate  brother, 

JOHN  McDowell. 

The  next  important  incident,  in  connection  with  Mr. 
McDowell's  ministry,  is  indicated  by  the  following  cer- 
tificate from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Green. 

This  is  to  certify  to  all  whom  it  may  concern,  that  the 
bearer,  the  Kev.  John  McDowell,  Pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  Elizabethtown,  New  Jersey,  has  been  appointed  by 
the  Board  of  Directors^  of  the  Theological  Seminary  estab- 
lished by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  the  United  States,  to  solicit  donations  and  subscriptions 
to  said  Seminary,  in  the  Southern  States  of  the  American 
Union  ;  and  that  he  is  duly  and  fully  authorized  to  receive 
any  benefactions  intended  for  said  Seminary,  in  whatever 
form  they  may  be  made. 

Given  under  my  hand  at  Princeton,  this  2d  day   of  Jan- 
uary, in  the  year  of  our  Lord  eighteen  hundred  and  eighteen. 
ASHBEL  GREEN,  President  of  the 
Board  of  Directors  of  the  Tlieological  Seminary. 


71 

In  pursuance  of  this  commission,  Mr.  McDowell  sailed 
from  New  York  on  the  11th  of  January,  1818,  for 
Savannah,  where  he  arrived  after  a  stormy  and  disa- 
greeable passage  of  ten  days.  Here  he  met  a  cordial 
welcome  from  his  brother-in-law.  Dr.  Henry  Kollock, 
whose  guest  he  was  so  long  as  he  remained  in  the  city. 
As  Presbyterianism  was  then  somewhat  at  a  discount 
in  Savannah,  Dr.  Kollock  gave  him  no  encouragement 
of  success  in  his  application  ;  while  yet  he  allowed  him 
to  present  the  object  in  his  pulpit,  and  afterwards  to 
make  private  solicitations  among  his  people.  The  result 
of  the  effort,  however,  disappointed  both  the  Doctor 
and  himself,  the  sum  which  he  collected  being  not  less 
than  eighteen  hundred  dollars.  After  remaining  at 
Savannah  and  in  the  neighbourhood  about  a  fortnight, 
he  proceeded  to  Augusta,  where  also  he  prosecuted  his 
mission  very  successfully,  being  seconded  in  his  appli- 
cations by  some  of  the  most  prominent  individuals  of 
the  place.  During  his  stay  here,  occurred  the  Funeral 
of  the  Hon.  John  Milledge,  who  had  been  Governor  of 
Georgia,  and  whose  residence  was  about  three  miles 
from  Augusta.  Mr.  McDowell  attended  the  Funeral  as 
a  clergyman,  and  took  part  in  the  services  ;  and  he 
seems  to  have  been  deeply  impressed  by  the  splendid 
pageantry    he    witnessed.     From   Augusta    he    went 


72 

to  Waynesboro',  where  he  was  most  hospitably  received, 
but,  by  the  advice  of  his  friend,  Mr.  Whitehead,  at 
whose  house  he  staid,  did  not  attempt — owing  to  some 
peculiar  circumstances — to  bring  his  object  before  the 
people,  though  Mr.  W.  himself  made  to  it  a  liberal  con- 
tribution. After  a  short  visit  at  Waynesboro',  he 
returned  to  Savannah,  and  thence  travelled  by  water 
to  Charleston,  where  he  arrived  on  the  5th  of  March, 
having  had  a  most  tempestuous  and  perilous  passage. 
Here,  in  acceptance  of  an  invitation  which  had  been 
sent  to  him  while  he  was  in  Georgia,  he  made  his  home 
at  the  house  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Palmer,  where  every  thing 
was  done  that  could  be  for  his  accommodation  and 
comfort.  The  object  of  his  mission  met  with  a  hearty 
approval  from  the  several  Presbyterian  ministers,  and 
one  of  them  (Dr.  Flinn)  testified  practically  his  sense 
of  its  importance  by  the  generous  contribution  of  five 
hundred  dollars.  Here  he  spent  some  three  weeks, 
preaching  to  dilBferent  congregations  on  the  Sabbath, 
and  making  personal  applications  to  the  more  wealthy 
and  benevolent  during  the  week  ;  and  his  success  fully 
equalled  his  highest  expectations.  The  sum  of  the 
contributions  was  not  far  from  five  thousand  dollars, 
twenty-five  hundred  of  which  was  given  by  the  ladies  to 
establish  a  scholarship.     He  was  greatly  impressed  by 


73 

the  urbane  and  kindly  bearing  of  the  people  of  Charles- 
ton, by  their  intellectual  and  social  culture,  and  by  the 
high  tone  of  religious  feeling  evinced  by  many  of  them; 
while  yet  he  seems  to  have  thought  that  a  spirit  of 
refined  gaiety  was  quite  in  the  ascendant.  Having 
done  his  work  at  Charleston,  he  passed  on  to  Raleigh, 
N.  C,  whence,  after  staying  only  long  enough  to  fulfil 
an  appointment  in  preaching,  which  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mc- 
Pheeters,  in  anticipation  of  his  visit,  had  made  for  him, 
he  proceeded  to  Hillsboro',  the  residence  of  his  two 
brothers-in-law,  the  Rev.  John  Witherspoon  and  Judge. 
Nash.  Here  and  hereabouts  he  passed  a  very  pleasant 
week,  chiefly  in  visiting  his  friends,  and  then  set  his 
face  in  good  earnest  in  a  Northerly  direction.  On  the 
21st  of  April,  he  was  restored  to  his  family  and  his 
flock,  in  better  health  than  when  he  left  them,  and  was 
permitted  to  unite  with  them  in  devout  thanksgiving 
to  God  that  both  he  and  they  had  been  so  mercifully 
preserved  and  cared  for  during  the  period  of  their  sep- 
aration. For  several  days  after  his  return,  his  house 
was  literally  thronged  by  his  grateful  and  rejoicing 
parishioners.  During  his  absence,  his  pulpit  had  been 
very  acceptably  supplied  by  the  Rev.  Backus  Wilbur, 
who  was  shortly  after  settled  as  Pastor  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  in  Dayton,  Ohio. 
7 


•74 

In  1818,  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  was  con- 
ferred upon  Mr.  McDowell,  by  both  the  University  of 
North  Carolina  and  Union  College. 

The  following  congratulatory  letter  from  his 
brother-in-law.  Dr.  Henry  Kollock,  was  written  shortly 
after  the  honour  was  conferred. 

Savannah,  July  18,  1818. 
My  Dear  Brother  : 

Though  I  wrote  to  Elizabethtown  a  few  days  since,  I  can- 
not let  Mr.  Camp  return  without  telling  you  that  I  am  well  ; 
that  the  town  was  never  more  healthy  ;  and  that  we  have  all 
the  prospect  of  a  pleasant  summer.  Yet  this  prospect  may 
soon  be  changed.  May  we  then  be  always  prepared  for  the 
dispensations  of  Providence,  ready  to  live  or  die  at  the  call 
of  God. 

I  congratulate  you  on  the  degree  conferred  upon  you  by 
the  University  of  North  Carolina.  It  indeed  has  ceased  to 
become  very  honourable  ;  but  you  have  deserved  it  ;  and 
though  others,  with  no  pretensions  to  it,  wear  it,  yet  still 
"qui  palmam  meruit  ferat."  I  hope  you  are  not  as  angry  as 
was  my  predecessor,  Dr.  Zubly,  because  they  have  not  given 
you  an  opportunity  of  writing  your  Latin  dissertation.  While 
speaking  on  this  subject,  I  may  as  well  remind  you  that  my 
degree  was  first  conferred  on  me  by  Harvard  University.  In 
the  Catalogue  you  have  mentioned  only  the  conferment  of  it 
from  Union  College.  If  there  is  any  honour  in  it,  I  more 
regard  the  former,  as  it  proceeds  from  an  institution  that  has 
been  less  profuse  in  its  degrees  than  the  younger  colleges  ; 
which,  like  some  young  Presbyteries  have  been  anxious  to 
seize  every  opportunity  of  displaying  and  exercising  their 
power.  You  may  therefore  make  an  alteration  in  the  College 
Catalogue. 


75 

Our  city  is  now  very  much  deserted.  You  have  doubtless 
met  many  of  our  people  at  the  North,  who  have  informed 
you  of  every  thing  connected  with  Savannah.  Be  assured  I 
shall  ever  remain  your  friend  and  brother, 

HENRY  KOLLOCK. 

The  following  letter  from  the  Rev.  (afterwards  Dr.) 
John  Witherspoon,  who  was  married  to  a  sister  of  Mrs. 
McDowell,  written  a  few  months  after  Dr.  M.'s  return 
from  the  South,  is  not  without  historical  interest. 

HiLLSBORo',  N.  C,  December  23,  1818. 
My  Dear  Brother  : 

Since  you  left  the  rank  of  plain  1/r.,  I  have  received  from 
you  but  one  letter — before  that,  you  were  a  very  good,  punc- 
tual correspondent.  This  is  a  great  falling  off ;  and  we  all 
feel  it  here,  as  we  depend  on  you  alone  for  the  news  from 
Jersev.  I  beg  you  will,  without  any  delay,  return  to  your 
good  old  habits,  and  let  your  friends  again  have  the  benefit 
of  your  correspondence.  Our  Brother  William  and  myself 
commenced  begging  last  week  in  Raleigh  ;  and,  though  our 
success  was  not  very  great,  we  received  something  to 
encourage  us.  No  doubt  he  has  informed  you  of  the  shame- 
ful interruption  he  experienced  in  his  begging  sermon  on  Sab- 
bath morning,  by  the  drum  and  fife  of  a  number  of  Free- 
masons, passing  by  the  church.  Nearly  one  half  of  the  con- 
gregation rose  and  went  out.  Not  only  the  pious,  but  all 
lovers  of  order  present,  were  deeply  grieved,  considering  it 
as  an  expression  of  hostility  against  Presbyterianism  in  that 
place.  But  we  live  in  a  land  of  liberty — here  follows  a 
specimen  of  it.  A  bill  was  lately  introduced  into  the  Legis- 
lature of  North  Carolina,  forbidding  any  person  to  teach  a 
slave  to  read  or  write,  under  the  penalty  of  a  heavy  fine  and 
imprisonment.     It  was  rejected  in  the  Commons  by  two  votes 


76 

— fifty-eight  against  fifty-six.  Seldom,  if  ever,  my  brother, 
have  my  feelings  been  so  much  han-owed  as  they  were  on 
that  occasion.  I  was  in  the  gallery  of  the  house  with  Wil- 
liam and  Brother  McPheeters,  when  this  shameful  bill  was 
read,  discussed  and  disposed  of.  I  blushed  and  was  ashamed 
for  the  miserable,  degraded  country  where  I  dwell.  Poor, 
unhappy  Africans  !  They  would  not  only  shut  the  door  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God  against  themselves,  but  would  even 
throw  away  the  key,  lest  it  might  be  opened  for  you  !  Shall 
I  remain  in  a  land  where  such  monstrous  abuse  of  liberty  of 
conscience  can  be  permitted  ?  Had  such  a  measure  passed, 
I  would  not  have  remained  a  month  within  the  reach  of  such 
an  abominable  statute.  The  curse  of  Grod  would  have  fol- 
lowed it;  and  even  now  we  have  reason  to  fear  his  awful 
judgments.  I  pity,  from  my  soul,  the  young  man  who  intro- 
duced it,  and  ti-emble  for  his  situation.  You  see,  my  brother, 
the  materials  among  which  your  brethren  in  this  country  have 
to  labour.  Will  not  our  Northern  brethren  pray  for  us  ?  My 
heart  revolts  at  these  things,  and  I  would  gladly  remove 
from  them,  if  I  could  only  see  it  to  be  the  course  of  duty. 
As  yet  I  cannot;  and  whatever  be  the  trial,  I  must  labour 
on,  and  do  what  little  I  can.  Another  bill  was  introduced  to 
prevent  drawing  the  seine  to  catch  fish  on  the  Lord's  day; — 
a  common  practice  in  the  lower  part  of  this  State.  The  bill 
was  lost;  and  thus  the  Legislatui-e  of  North  Carolina  tacitly 
encourages  Sabbath-breaking.  My  brother  has  been  elected 
a  Judge,  but  I  doubt  whether  he  will  accept  of  it.  A  strong 
influence  was  brought  to  bear  against  him,  because  he  is  a 
religious  man,  and  therefore  unfit  to  be  a  Judge  among 
wicked  people  !  Oh,  Sir,  my  very  soul  sickens  at  the  state 
of  things  I  behold  around  me.  A  man  debased  in  principle, 
and  steeped  in  sensuality,  is  chosen  to  fill  ofiices  for  which 
the  man  of  integrity  and  piety  as  well  as  talents,  is  deemed 
unfit.  Pray  write  to  me  very  soon,  and  believe  me  afiection- 
ately  yours,  J.  WITHERSPOON. 


77 

To  His  Brother,    Benjamin  McDowell,    of  Bedmins- 
TER,    N.  J. 

Elizabethtown,  June  1,  1819. 
My  Dear  Brother: 

I  received  your  letter  yesterday.  I  truly  sympathize  with 
my  dear  sister  in  the  afflictive  dispensation  of  Providence 
with  which  she  has  lately  been  visited.  I  hope  and  pray  that 
it  may  be  sanctified  to  her  spiritual  benefit,  and  that  of  her 
husband.  These  painful  events  which  wring  our  hearts  in 
agony,  are  often  made  blessings  in  the  end.  That  the  Lord 
afflicts  is  no  evidence  that  he  does  not  love — on  the  contrary 
we  are  told, — "  Whom  he  loveth  he  chasteneth  and  scourgeth 
every  son  whom  He  receiveth."  Present  my  affectionate 
remembrance  to  her  and  her  husband.  There  is  no  perma- 
nent happiness  here.  I  hope  I  increasingly  feel  more  of  this. 
Blessed  be  God  that,  amid  the  trials  of  life,  we  have  the 
assurance  that  there  remaineth  a  rest  for  the  people  of  God. 
Oh  that  we  may  think  more  of  that  rest;  long  more  for  it;  and 
give  more  diligence  to  secure  an  interest  in  it.  This  is  a 
world  not  only  of  sorrow  but  of  sin;  and  it  is  sin  that  makes 
it  sorrowful.  If  sin  is  embittered  to  us  by  the  trials  of  life, 
they  will  be  profitable  trials.  Let  this,  my  brother,  be  our 
aim  and  most  earnest  desire,  under  the  afflictions  we  are 
called  to  experience,  that  they  may  be  sanctified  to  us,  in 
causing  us  to  hate  sin  more,  and  long  more  intensely  after 
the  Heavenly  rest  ;  where  the  wicked  shall  no  more  stand  in 
the  congregation  of  the  righteous,  and  where  all  tears  shall 
be  wiped  away. 

I  am  surprised  to  hear  the  sad  intelligence  respecting  your 
congregation.  These  distractions,  to  one  who  loves  the  cause 
of  God,  are  exceedingly  painful.  But,  my  brother,  "  The 
Lord  reigneth  ;  let  the  earth  rejoice."  This  is  a  text,  which 
has  often  comforted  me  in  seasons  of  darkness;  and  I  pray 
God  that  you  may  feel  the  power  and  comfort  ■  of  it  in  your 
*7 


78 

own  soul,  in  this  day  of  darkness  and  rebuke.  God  is  in  the 
midst  of  Zion,  and  He  will  help  her;  and  no  weapon  formed 
against  her  shall  prosper.  God  will  take  care  of  his  own 
cause — we  need  not  fear  for  the  ark,  though  it  shake.  It 
is  true  that  we  have  no  promise  that  an  individual  congrega- 
tion shall  be  preserved,  but  we  have  that  the  Church  at  large 
shall  stand — and  this  is  our  comfort.  I  think  you  have  done 
your  duty  in  star  ding  by  the  congregation  of  youi'  fathers 
so  long,  in  the  midst  of  all  the  trials  you  have  had  to  endure, 
and  I  hope  you  will  still  maintain  your  grouud — the  worse  the 
state  of  things  becomes,  the  more  need  there  is  that  the 
friends  of  Zion  should  stand  in  the  breach.  I  think  the  state 
of  things  will  soon  be  better;  but  I  feel  assured  that  you 
will  maintain  a  right  spirit  while  the  conflict  lasts.  The  best 
advice  1  can  give  you  is  to  seek  counsel  at  a  throne  of  grace, 
pray  for  the  sanctification  of  your  trials  and  connnit  your 
case  unto  the  Lord.         Your  affectionate  brother, 

JOHN  McDowell. 

About  the  close  of  1819,  Dr.  McDowell  was  privi- 
leged to  witness  the  commencement  of  another  revival 
of  religion  in  his  congregation.  This  did  not  pervade 
the  congregation  so  entirely  as  the  revival  immediately 
preceding  had  done,  but  was  confined  to  particular 
neighbourhoods.  Nor  was  the  church  so  earnestly- 
engaged  in  the  work  as  the  devoted  Pastor  could  have 
desired.  The  subjects  were  generally  from  irreligious, 
and,  in  some  cases,  from  notoriously  profligate,  fami- 
lies ;  while  the  more  decent  and  moral  and  promising 
were  passed  by.     This  season  of  special  attention  con- 


Y9 

tinued  about  a  year ;  and  there  were  added  to  the  com- 
munion of  the  church,  as  its  fruits,  about  sixty. 

In  1820,  Dr.  McDowell  served  as  Moderator  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church ;  and  his 
great  familiarity  with  Presbyterial  rules,  his  aptitude 
for  public  business,  his  untiring  industry,  and  exact 
punctuality,  and  singular  devotion  to  the  best  interests 
of  the  Church,  qualified  him  pre-eminently  for  the 
duties  of  that  difficult  place. 

During  this  year,  (1820,)  the  church  of  which  Dr. 
McDowell  was  Pastor,  numbered  no  less  than  six  hund- 
red and  sixty  members  ;  and  it  was  thought  best  that 
a  colony  from  it  should  be  organized  into  a  Second 
church.  This  was  accordingly  done  ;  and  the  act  of 
organization  was  performed  by  Dr.  McDowell.  Of  the 
new  church  the  Rev.  (now  Dr.)  David  Magie,  a  native 
of  Elizabethtown,  who  had  been  brought  into  the 
church  under  Dr.  McDowell's  ministry,  became  the 
Pastor.  He  has  had  a  long,  honoured  and  highly  suc- 
cessful ministry,  and  still  survives  to  pay  a  grateful 
tribute  to  his  early  spiritual  guide. 

In  the  spring  of  1821,  Dr.  McDowell  became  deeply 
interested  in  a  missionary  enterprise,  which  awakened 
a  very  general  sympathy  throughout  the  Church.  It 
forms  the  subject  of  the  following  letter  addressed  to 
his  brother  Benjamin. 


80 

Elizabethtown,  March  11,  1821. 
My  dear  brother: 

I  passed  through  a  very  interesting  scene  last  week.  A 
mission  family  collected  from  nine  different  States,  consist- 
ing of  twenty-five  grown  persons,  male  and  female,  and  six- 
teen children,  were  set  apart  in  New  York  by  the  United 
Foreign  Mission  Society,  to  spend  their  days  among  the 
Great  Osage  Indians,  about  five  hundred  miles  beyond  the 
Mississippi.  The  setting  apart  of  this  family  took  place  in 
Dr.  Mason's  Church  on  Monday  evening,  and  the  farewell 
meeting  was  in  the  Middle  Dutch  Church  on  Tuesday  evening. 
On  Wednesday  afternoon,  they  set  out  from  New  York  on 
board  our  steamboat.  The  houses  were  excessively  crowded 
each  evening,  and  several  thousand  people  were  on  the  wharf 
to  witness  their  departure.  Quite  a  number  accompanied 
them  to  Elizabethtown.  We  held  a  meeting  in  my  church 
on  Wednesday  evening,  and  the  house  was  crowded.  On 
Thursday  morning  they  all  assembled  at  my  house,  and  a 
great  crowd  of  other  people  with  them.  We  had  singing 
and  prayer;  after  which  they  set  out  in  carriages,  provided 
by  our  people,  for  New  Brunswick.  We  formed  a  procession 
of  thirteen  carriages,  our  excellent  Governor  and  myself 
being  placed  at  the  head  of  it.  The  people  of  my  congrega- 
tion made  up  two  hundred  and  thirty  garments,  forty  articles 
of  bedding,  and  other  articles,  amounting  in  all  to  five  hundred. 
We  collected  about  one  hundred  and  seventy  dollars  in 
money,  and  conveyed  the  family,  with  their  travelling  bag- 
gage, free  of  expense,  to  New  Brunswick. 

Dear  brother,  it  is  a  day  of  wonders.  It  becomes  us  to  be 
up  and  doing.  The  Saviour  is  on  his  way  to  take  possession 
of  his  kingdom,  and  to  fill  the  earth  with  his  glory. 

Your  brother, 

JOHN  McDowell. 


81 

Early  in  the  year  1822,  Dr.  McDowell  received  a  call 
from  the  Rutgers  Street  Presbyterian  Congregation  in 
New  York  to  become  their  Pastor;  but  he  had  no 
doubt  that  it  was  his  duty  to  decline  it,  and  he  did  so 
promptly. 

During  the  sessions  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
1822,  Dr.  ■  McDowell  was  deeply  interested  in  laying 
the  corner-stone  of  a  new  church,  to  be  occupied  by  his 
friend,  the  Rev.  Thomas  H.  Skinner, — Dr.  Romeyn  and 
one  or  two  other  prominent  clergymen  taking  part  in 
the  service.  At  the  same  meeting  of  the  Assembly  he 
was  appointed,  with  Dr.  John  H.  Rice,  of  Virginia,  a 
delegate  to  the  General  Associations  of  Connecticut 
and  Massachusetts. 

Having  joined  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Rice  in  New  York,  on 
the  12th  of  June,  he  proceeded  towards  New  England, 
and,  on  the  first  day,  reached  Stratford,  Conn.,  where 
he  had  much  pleasure  in  meeting  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dutton, 
the  Congregational  minister  of  the  place,  and  some 
other  friends.  The  next  day  (Friday)  he,  with  his  fel- 
low travellers,  went  to  New  Haven,  and  remained  there 
till  Monday.  Dr.  McDowell  was  the  guest  of  Mr. 
(afterwards  Dr.)  Taylor,  and  preached  for  him  Sab- 
bath morning,  and  in  the  afternoon  in  the  College  Cha- 
pel.    He    spent    Saturday    in    visiting    the    College 


82 

Library,  the  Cabinet  of  Minerals  and  other  curiosities, 
in  calling  upon  Dr.  Morse  and  other  friends,  and  in  the 
evening  he  met  and  addressed  the  College  students. 
From  New  Haven  he  went  on  his  way  to  Hartford,  and 
thence  to  Tolland,  where  the  General  Association  of 
Connecticut  met,  and  where  I  had  myself  the  pleasure 
of  meeting  both  Dr.  McDowell  and  Dr.  Rice,  and  hear- 
ing both  of  them  preach.  Here  Dr.  McDowell,  not  only 
by  his  preaching,  which  was  very  direct  and  earnest, 
but  by  his  dignified  bearing  and  evident  familiarity 
with  ecclesiastical  rule,  attracted  no  small  degree  of 
attention.  After  the  Association  had  adjourned,  he 
took  a  seat  in  my  chaise  to  Hartford,  and  thence  to 
West  Springfield,  which  was  at  that  time  my  home,  and 
remained  with  me  for  several  days, — most  of  the  time 
until  the  General  Association  of  Massachusetts,  which 
assembled  a  day  or  two  afterwards  in  Springfield,  had 
closed  its  session.  He  had  engaged  to  divide  the 
labours  of  the  Sabbath  between  me  and  Mr.  (after- 
wards Dr.)  Osgood  ;  but  a  sudden  attack  of  illness  pre- 
vented his  preaching  at  all  on  the  Sabbath,  though  I 
heard  him  preach  the  Sermon  preparatory  to  the  Com- 
munion at  Springfield,  from  the  text,  "Awake,  0  North 
wind,"  &c.  It  was  an  excellent  discourse,  delivered 
with  his  characteristic  unction,  and  produced  a  stro^ 


83 

impression  upon  the   audience.     He  was  received  and 

treated  by  the  New  England  ministers,  both  here  and 

at  Tolland,  with  great  consideration  and  deference,  and 

was  regarded  by  them  as   a  most  favourable  specimen 

of  an  earnest  and  faithful  preacher. 

The  following  letter  was  addressed  to  his  brother 

William,  in  reply  to  one  in  which  he  had  asked  his 

advice  in  respect  to  the  propriety  of  his  accepting  a 

call  from  Charleston,  S.  C. 

Elizabethtown,  August  1,  1823. 
My  Dear  Brother  : 

I  have  just  received  your  letter,  and  hasten  to  give  you  my 
views  of  the  important  subject  to  which  it  relates, — a  subject 
which  has  been  in  my  mind  a  considerable  time,  as  I  have 
anticipated  the  event  which  your  letter  informs  me  has  taken 
place.  My  opinion  has  uniformly  been  that,  in  case  you  re- 
ceived a  unanimous  call  from  that  church,  with  the  promise 
of  an  adequate  support,  you  ought  to  accept  it.  I  shall  cer- 
tainly very  much  regret  your  removal  from  this  part  of  the 
Church,  and  I  know  it  must  be  exceedingly  trying  to  you  to 
leave  your  present  charge  among  whom  you  are  so  respecta- 
bly, comfortably  and  usefully  settled — trying  also  to  leave 
your  native  State,  the  country  of  your  own  and  your  wife's 
kindred,  and  also  to  have  your  present  ecclesiastical  and 
literary  connections  dissolved.  But  it  appears  to  me  that  if 
health  and  life  be  worth  preserving,  you  are  called  to  make 
this  sacrifice.  It  is  this  consideration  that  operates  upon  my 
mind  with  irresistible  force.  Your  life  is  too  valuable  to  j^our 
family' and  to  the  Church  to  be  unnecessarily  sacrificed;  and 
it  appears  to  me  to  be  reduced  almost  to  a  certainty  that  you 
cannot  live  long  at  Morristown,  or  in  a  Northern  climate. 


84 

Besides,  I  cannot  resist  the  impression  that  God,  in  his 
providence,  is  directing  j'^ou  to  the  place  where  He  designs  to 
make  you  eminently  useful.  He  owned  your  labors  in  that 
city  the  last  winter;  and  He  has,  after  his  guidance  had  been 
sought  by  a  few  eminently  pious  people,  desirous  of  creating 
a  standard  of  primitive  piety  and  discipline  in  that  populous 
city,  directed  their  minds  unanimously  to  you.  I  view  this, 
under  the  circumstances  of  the  case  as  a  marked  indication 
of  Providence.  I  believe  the  enterprise  of  those  men  is  in- 
calculably important  to  the  interests  of  religion  in  that  city; 
and  not  in  that  city  only,  but  in  all  that  region  of  the  Church. 
And  I  do  believe  that,  if  health  was  not  concerned  in  this 
movement,  your  prospects  of  ministerial  usefulness  are  far 
greater  in  Charleston  than  in  your  present  charge ;  notwith- 
standing the  latter  at  present  greatly  exceeds  the  former  in 
point  of  numbers.  Besides,  it  appears  to  me  that  if  you  had 
wished  to  remove  to  a  milder  climate,  and  could  have  chosen 
a  place  for  yourself  in  the  whole  wide  range  of  the  Southern 
country,  you  could  not  have  found  a  situation  in  all  respects 
more  desirable.  In  respect  to  both  comfort  and  usefulness, 
I  cannot  but  think  that  it  is  greatly  to  be  preferred  before 
any  of  the  old  established  churches  of  the  South.  Besides, 
Charleston  is  one  uf  the  healthiest  places  in  all  the  Southern 
country.  I  shall  hope  to  see  you  at  Princeton,  and  to  have 
an  opportunity  of  conversing  with  you  at  length  on  this  sub- 
ject. Meanwhile,  commending  you  to  God's  gracious  direc- 
tion, I  am  your  affectionate  brother, 

JOHN  McDowell. 

In  the  early  part  of  January,  1824,  another  revival 
of  religion  commenced,  which  continued  with  a  mode- 
rate degree  of  power,  till  the  close  of  the  next  year, 
bringing  into  the   communion  of  the   church   during 


85 

that  period,  about  sixty  persons.  But,  at  that  time, 
(December,  1825,)  it  received  a  fresh  impulse,  in  con- 
nection with  the  observance  of  a  Day  of  Fasting  and 
Prayer,  appointed  by  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey  on 
account  of  the  general  absence  of  Divine  influence 
from  their  churches.  It  continued  till  the  close  of  the 
year  1826,  and  during  this  year  about  one  hundred  and 
thirty  were  added  to  the  church.  It  was  remarkable 
for  the  very  short  time  that  intervened  between  the 
first  awakening  and  the  hopeful  conversion  of  most  of 
its  subjects. 

In  the  autumn  of  1824,  Dr.  McDowell  received  a 
unanimous  call  to  become  the  Pastor  of  the  Wall 
Street  Congregation  in  the  city  of  New  York.  The 
result  of  the  negotiation  on  this  subject  appears  from 
the  following  document  from  Dr.  McDowell,  bearing 
date  December  11,  1824. 

To  the  Session  and  Trustees  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church, 

Elizahethtown : 
Dear  Brethren  : 

I  beg  leave  to  communicate  to  you,  and  through  you  to  the 
congregation,  the  result  of  my  deliberations  in  regard  to  the 
call  from  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  city  of  New 
York.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  a  letter  which  I  have  just 
put  into  the  Post-office,  directed  to  the  Commissioners  appoint- 
ed by  that  congregation  to  prosecute  the  call.  This  letter 
contains  my  answer  to  them. 


86 

Elizabethtown,  Noveviber,  11,  1824. 
Gentlemen  : 

The  call  from  your  congregation  has  received  my  most 
serious  and  deliberate  consideration.  I  have  endeavoured  to 
collect  every  argument  bearing  on  the  subject,  and  have  care- 
fully and  anxiously  weighed  the  reasons  for  and  against  my 
removal.  I  have  diligently  sought  the  advice  of  others.  I 
have  spread  the  whole  matter  before  the  Lord,  and  have  again 
and  again  asked  fur  light,  and  begged  of  Him  to  direct  my 
judgment  aright,  and  incline  my  heart  to  the  path  of  duty. 
Ever  since  I  received  notice  that  the  call  was  made  out,  T 
have  experienced  a  painful  conflict  in  respect  to  it.  This  day 
I  have  secluded  myself  from  my  family  and  from  the  world, 
and  have  spent  its  hours  alone  in  my  study,  in  fasting  and 
prayer,  and  meditation  upon  this  important  subject.  At 
length  I  have  come  to  a  definite  decision,  and  it  is  that  I  can- 
not sunder  the  ties  that  bind  me  to  this  people.  I  cannot  feel 
satisfied  that  it  is  the  will  of  Providence  that  I  should  remove 
from  this  place,  where  God  has  so  signally  owned  and  blessed 
my  labours.  My  feelings  revolt  at  the  prospect  of  inflicting 
so  deep  a  wound  as  I  clearly  see  would  be  caused  in  the  hearts 
of  those  I  love,  and  who  have  uniformly  manifested  a  warm 
attachment  to  me,  and  many  of  whom  are  God's  dear  people, 
and  my  children  in  the  Gospel.  And  I  dare  not  hazard  the 
division,  and  perhaps  prostration,  of  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant congregations  in  the  Presbyterian  connection,  and  one 
whose  interests  I  have,  for  twenty  years,  been  endeavouring  to 
advance.  I  must,  therefore,  Gentlemen,  most  respectfully  re- 
quest that  the  call  may  not  be  farther  prosecuted.  If  I  could 
have  come  to  this  decision  before,  I  would  gladly  have  saved 
you  the  trouble  to  which  you  have  been  subjected.  I  feel  most 
deeply  for  your  congregation  in  their  present  bereaved  state; 
and  I  do  most  earnestly  pray  that  the  Great  Head  of  the 
Church  may  keep  you  of  one  mind,  and  may  speedily  direct 


si 

you  to  a  Pastor  after  his  own  heart,  who  shall  he  a  rich  hless- 
ing'  to  you  and  your  children. 

I  am,  Gentlemen,  with  sincere  and  high  respect  for  you  indi- 
vidually, and  with  earnest  desires  for  the  welfare  of  the  con- 
gregation you  represent, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  McDowell. 

Robert  Lenox,  Esq.,  and  Dr.  John  R.  B.  Rogers. 

In  the  above  letter.  Dear  Brethren,  you  have  my  decision  in 
regard  to  the  call.  I  have  desired  to  do  right,  and  I  hope  I  have 
not  erred.  The  subject  has  caused  me  much  anxiety  and  dis- 
tress, but  my  mind  is  now  at  ease.  For  all  the  pain  which  any 
of  my  people  have  suffered  on  this  account,  I  am  deeply  grieved. 
If  I  could,  consistently  with  a  sense  of  duty,  have  relieved  their 
minds  sooner,  it  should  certainly  have  been  done.  I  have  only 
to  add  a  prayer  that  this  decision  may  redound  to  the  glory  of 
God,  and  the  best  interests  of  that  4ear  flock  over  which  the 
Holy  Ghost  hath  made  me  overseer  ;  and  to  subscribe  myself 
Your  and  the  congregation's  devoted  servant, 

JOHN  McDowell. 

The  following  Resolution,  which  was  adopted  unani- 
mously by  the  congregation,  on  the  Sabbath  morning 
after  his  decision  was  made  known  to  them,  was  alike 
creditable  to  Pastor  and  people. 

Resolved,  That  this  new  proof  of  affection  shown  to  us  by 
'the  Rev.  Dr.  John  McDowell,  in  rejecting  the  call  lately  pre- 
sented to  him  by  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  demands  an  expression  of  our  profound  gratitude — 
that  we  view  it  as  an  assurance  that  he  is  the  chosen  shepherd 
of  this  flock,  and  are  encouraged  to  regard  it  as  a  pledge  that 
the  ties  which,  on  this  occasion,  he  has  held  indissoluble,  will 


not  be  sundered  till  lie  shall  be  called  to  the  rich  reward  that 
awaits  him  in  his  Master's  Kingdom. 

CALEB  HALSTED. 

But,  notwithstanding  Dr.  McDowell  thus  signified  his 
determination  to  remain  with  his  people,  and  the 
anxiety  and  agitation  which  had  been  felt  on  the  sub- 
ject were  now  succeeded  by  a  calm  feeling  of  security, 
this  state  of  things  was  not  destined  to  continue  long 
without  interruption.  In  September  of  the  next  year, 
(1825),  the  Wall  Street  Congregation  were  moved  to 
another  effort  in  the  same  direction  with  the  preceding 
— they  presented  Dr.  McDowell  another  unanimous  and 
very  urgent  call.  Though  his  attachment  to  his  con- 
gregation and  his  interest  in  their  welfare  had  under- 
gone no  abatement,  he  seems  now  to  have  been  brought 
to  the  conviction  that  it  was  his  duty  to  accept  the 
call ;  and  this  he  very  plainly  intimated  to  his  congre- 
gation, as  well  as  to  the  Commissioners  from  the  Wall 
Street  Church,  appointed  to  prosecute  the  call  be- 
fore the  Presbytery.  His  congregation  determined 
to  place  every  obstacle  they  could  in  the  way  of 
his  removal,  appointed  Commissioners  to  represent 
their  convictions  and  wishes  to  the  Presbytery,  Dr. 
McDowell  meanwhile  expressing  his  entire  willingness 
to  submit  to   the   Presbyterial  decision,  whatever  it 


89 

might  be,  as  indicating  the  will  of  Providence.  When 
the  Presbytery  met,  about  the  beginning  of  November, 
the  question  of  his  removal  was  argued,  on  both  sides, 
with  great  earnestness  and  ability,  and  the  result  was 
a  unanimous  decision  that  it  was  his  duty  to  remain  at 
Elizabethtown.  This  result  was  most  thankfully  ac- 
knowledged by  another  formal  Resolution  on  the  part 
of  his  congregation,  while  some  at  least  of  the  good 
people  of  Wall  Street  were  disposed  to  write  bitter 
things  against  the  Presbytery,  for  having  thwarted  not 
only  their  earnest  wishes  but  confident  expectations. 

The  General  Assembly,  in  1825,  chose  Dr.  McDowell 
its  Permanent  Clerk ;  which  office  he  held,  discharging 
its  duties  with  great  ability  and  fidelity,  for  eleven 
years. 

In  June,  1826,  the  attempt  which  had  been  made 
just  twenty  years  before  to  run  a  steambjoat  between 
New  York  and  Elizabethtown  Point  on  the  Sabbath, 
was  renewed,  but  happily  without  success.  The  fol- 
lowing letter,  addressed  by  Dr.  McDowell  to  the  Cap- 
tain of  the  boat,  shows  that  his  sense  of  the  impro- 
priety and  immorality  of  the   act  was  as  deep  as  ever. 

Dear  Sir: 

I  have  uniformly  felt  a  deep  interest  in  the  Point  establish- 
ment, and  have  endeavoured  to  promote  it — what  I  am  about 
to  say,  therefore,  must  not  be  set  down  to  the  account  of 


90 

prejudice.  Yesterday  I  took  up  an  Elizabetbtown  paper,  and 
was  greatly  pained  to  find  in  it  an  advertisement  that  your 
steamboat  runs  to  the  Point  on  the  Sabbath  day.  I  have 
been  absent  from  home,  or  I  suppose  I  should  have  known  it 
before.  I  view  this  as  fitted  to  have  such  a  demoralizing 
effect  upon  the  town,  that,  let  me  suffer  what  I  may,  I  can- 
not, in  conscience,  keep  silence.  My  situation,  not  only  as 
a  citizen,  and  a  respecter  of  the  law  of  God  in  regard  to  the 
Sabbath,  but  especially  as  a  minister  of  Christ,  bound,  under 
pain  of  the  heavy  displeasure  of  the  Great  God,  to  give  the 
people  warning,  will  not  suffer  me  to  be  silent.  I  might 
urge  a  great  many  reasons  against  the  running  of  your  boat 
on  the  Sabbath.;  but  I  will  not  undertake  this  now. 

My  object,  in  addressing  you  this  note,  is  most  respectfully 
and  affectionately  to  request  of  you  and  your  associates  to 
take  this  matter  into  most  serious  consideration,  and  speedily 
put  an  end  to  the  evil  complained  of  In  this  request  I  have 
no  doubt  that  I  speak  the  language  of  a  majority  of  the  in- 
habitants of  this  town.  I  have  conversed  with  a  number  of 
our  most  influential  people,  and  they  all  unite  in  a  common 
expression  of  disapproval.'  It  is  not  only  the  religious  part 
of  the  community  wno  deeply  regret  the  step  you  have 
taken,  but  many  other  of  our  most  respectable  citizens.  Will 
you,  my  dear  Sir,  continue  to  contravene  the  wishes,  and 
disregard  the  feelings,  of  a  multitude  who  have  been,  and 
-still  wish  to  be,  your  patrons  ?  If  you  will  persevere  in  this, 
I  can  only  say  that  I  have  altogether  mistaken  your  charac- 
ter. If  you  think  it  best  to  stop  at  once,  many  others  beside 
myself  will  rejoice  in  it.  But  if  not,  then  I  have  another 
request  to  make  —  it  is  that  you  would  allow  me  and  several 
other  persons  an  interview  with  you,  that  we  may  talk  the 
matter  over  in  a  friendly  manner;  and  we  wish  to  have  this 
interview  as  soon  as  possible.  If  you  agree  to  this  sugges- 
tion, please  to  let  me  know  when  and  where  we  may  meet 
^ou.  I  am,  Dear  Sir,  respectfully  yours, 

JOHN  McDowell. 


91 

In  1826,  Dr.  McDowell  published  a  System  of  The- 
ology, consisting  of  one  hundred  and  seven  Discourses, 
arranged  in  the  order  of  the  Shorter  Catechism,  in 
two  octavo  volumes.  These  Discourses,  which  are 
characterized  by  great  perspicuity  and  unction,  and 
are  of  a  highly  evangelical  type,  had  been  previously 
addressed  to  his  people  from  the  pulpit,  and  were  now 
dedicated  to  them,  as  a  token  of  his  affectionate  regard. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  in  1828, 
Dr.  McDowell  was  appointed  Professor  of  Ecclesias- 
tical History  and  Church  Government  in  the  Western 
(Allegheny)  Theological  Seminary.  In  writing  to  his 
brother-in-law,  the  Rev.  Shepard  Kollock,  shortly 
after,  he  says, —  referring  to  this  appointment, —  "  The 
subject  is  seriously  before  my^ind,  and  I  am  endea- 
vouring to  obtain  the  light  necessary  to  enable  me  to 
come  to  the  right  decision.  I  should  be  glad  to  have 
your  views  in  relation  to  it."  The  result  was  that, 
after  due  consideration,  he  became  satisfied  that  it 
was  his  duty  to  decline  the  appointment. 

In  the  winter  and  spring  of  1829,  an  unusual  atten- 
tion to  religion  prevailed  in  his  congregation,  which 
resulted  in  the  addition  of  about  twenty-five  to  the 
communion  of  the  Church.  During  about  the  first 
half  of  this  year,  his  preaching  averaged  one  sermon 


92 

a  day.  Another  revival  occurred  in  the  winter  and 
spring  of  1831,  though  it  was  confined  to  certain 
neighbourhoods,  and  never  became  general.  It  num- 
bered about  forty  subjects. 

Early  in  the  summer  of  1831,  Dr.  McDowell  was 
apprized  of  the  probability  of  his  being  chosen  to  the 
Professorship  of  Church  History  and  Polity  in  the 
Union  Theological  Seminary,  Virginia,  and  was  confi- 
dentially inquired  of  as  to  the  prospect  of  his  accept- 
ance. As  the  Seminary  was  under  the  care  of  the 
Synods  of  Virginia  ^d  North  Carolina,  the  mode  of 
election  was  for  each  Synod  to  cast  its  votes,  and  if 
both  agreed  to  nominate  the  same  person,  nothing  re- 
mained for  the  Board  of  Directors  but  to  sanction 
the  united  choice ;  but,  in  case  of  a  disagreement,  it 
devolved  upon  the  Directors  to  settle  the  question  of 
the  election.  The  Synod  of  North  Carolina  met  to- 
wards the  close  of  August,  and  all  the  members  but 
five  voted  for  Dr.  McDowell ;  and  they  acquiesced 
cheerfully  in  his  appointment.  The  meeting  of  the 
Synod  of  Virginia  took  place  early  in  September, 
when  he  was  nominated  to  the  Professorship  with 
entire  unanimity.  In  the  prospect  of  this  election, 
Dr.  Archibald  Alexander  wrote  to  Dr.  Plumer,  then  a 
prominent  member  of  the  Virginia  Synod,  as  follows : 


93 

"Dr.  Rice's  decease  has  left  a  chasm  in  Virginia  which 
none  but  God  can  fill.  His  influence  was  extensive  and 
rested  on  a  solid  basis.  He  understood  the  Virginian  char- 
acter, and,  in  selecting  a  successor,  you  will  run  a  mighty 
risk  in  this  respect,  if  the  man  should  possess  all  other  quali- 
fications. I  do  not  perceive  how  you  could  obtain  a  better 
man  than  Dr.  McDowell.  He  has  fervent  piety,  decision  of 
character,  energy  of  action,  and  excellent  habits  of  business. 
If  he  were  younger,  his  literary  career  might  be  brighter; 
but  he  is  sound  in  the  Faith;  a  Confession  of  Faith  man, 
through  and  through;  and  a  pungent,  powerful,  practical 
preacher,  who  will  soon  make  the  people  forget  his  notes. 
You  must  have  a  man  of  energy,  who  fears  no  labeurs,  and 
who  can  win  the  affections  of  the  pious  people.  Dr.  McDow- 
ell is  the  man.  But  ought  you  not  to  make  him  your  Pro- 
fessor of  Theology  ?  If  you  get  him,  however,  you  can 
easily  manage  this  matter,  when  you  fix  on  your  third 
Professor.  On  this  subject  I  have  no  suggestions  to  make. 
May  God  direct  in  all  that  concerns  his  Church  1" 

Dr.  McDowell,  after  looking  at  the  subject  in  all  its 
bearings,  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  it  was  his  duty 
to  accept  the  appointment,  notwithstanding  the  great 
personal  sacrifices  which  he  knew  it  must  involve.  The 
grounds  upon  which  he  reached  this  conclusion  were 
chiefly  these — that  he  had  nearly  reached  the  period 
of  life  at  which  his  ability  for  the  ordinary  labours  of 
the  ministry  must  begin  to  wane,  while  he  might 
become  increasingly  competent  to  discharge  the  duties 
of  the  Professorship,  if  his  life  should  be  spared,  for 
many  years  ;  that  Theological  Seminaries  are  emphat- 


94 

ically  the  nurseries  of  the  Church,  and  that  they  have 
a  right  to  put  the  Church  in  requisition  for  her  more 
experienced  ministers  ;  and  that  the  Seminary  to  which 
he  was  called  was  so  peculiarly  situated  that  he  could 
not  decline  the  appointment  without  placing  its  inter- 
ests in  the  most  serious  jeopardy.  The  Presbytery, 
at  its  meeting  in  Elizabethtown,  on  the  1st  of  Novem- 
ber, after  hearing  Dr.  McDowell  and  the  Commissioners 
of  the  congregation  present  their  reasons  respectively 
for  and  against  his  being  permitted  to  resign  his  charge, 
decided  in  favour  of  the  dissolution  of  his  pastoral 
relation,  and  dismissed  him  to  join  the  Presbytery  of 
West  Hanover  in  Virginia.  The  Doctor  then  immedi- 
ately wrote  to  Virginia,  formally  signifying  his  accept- 
ance of  the  appointment,  and  commenced  his  prepara- 
tions for  the  removal  of  his  family.  He,  however,  very 
soon  found  that  he  had  to  encounter  obstacles  which 
he  had  not  anticipated.  Mrs.  McDowell,  when  the 
matter  of  leaving  her  native  place  for  a  residence  in  a 
remote  part  of  the  country,  where  she  would  be  an 
entire  stranger,  came  to  be  looked  at  as  a  stern  reality, 
found  that  her  resolution  began  to  falter  ;  and  so  pow- 
erful was  the  effect  that  was  produced  upon  her  that 
her  husband  became  exceedingly  embarrassed  in  respect 
to  his  own  duty.     The  congregation,    meanwhile,  were 


95 

weeping  bitter  tears  at  the  prospect  of  his  departure  ; 
and,  as  soon  as  the  state  of  Mrs.  McDowell's  mind 
became  known  to  them,  it  suggested  to  them  the  idea 
of  carrying  the  case  up  to  the  Synod ;  and,  as  the  ten 
days,  in  which  they  had  a  right  to  appeal,  were  not  yet 
past,  they  lost  no  time  in  taking  that  important  step. 

The  Doctor  was  now  placed  in  an  exceedingly  embar- 
rassing position ;  and,  for  aught  that  appeared,  he 
must  remain  where  he  was  until  the  appeal  was  either 
issued  or  withdrawn.  He  laboured  earnestly  with  the 
Commissioners  to  induce  them  to  withdraw  it,  and 
with  some  prospect  of  success ;  but  when  the  matter 
came  to  be  referred  to  the  congregation  on  the  next 
Sabbath,  they  decided  unanimously  that  the  appeal 
should  be  continued.  As  the  stated  meeting  of  Synod 
was  almost  a  year  distant,  and  a  special  meeting  could 
not  be  called  without  subjecting  the  members  to  great 
inconvenience,  and  as  it  was  of  great  importance  to  all 
the  parties  concerned  to  have  the  matter  settled  as 
soon  as  possible,  it  was  finally  agreed  between  Dr.  Mc- 
Dowell and  the  Commissioners  acting  for  the  congre- 
gation, that  the  case  should  be  submitted  to  the  judg- 
ment of  ten  men,  —  five  ministers  and  five  elders,  mutu- 
ally chosen,  and  that  both  parties  would  abide  by  their 
decision.     This  council  accordingly  met  on  the  22d  of 


96 

November,  and,  after  a  patient  hearing  of  the  case, 
decided  that  the  indications  of  Providence  were  clearly 
in  favour  of  his  remaining  with  his  congregation.  The 
Presbytery  met  shortly  after,  and,  without  any  instal- 
lation, continued  him  as  Pastor.  The  following  letter 
from  the  Kev.  Dr.  Goodrich,  one  of  the  Professors  of 
the  Seminary,  written  in  reply  to  one  from  Dr.  Mc- 
Dowell, before  the  matter  was  consummated,  but 
announcing  its  probable  issue,  will  give  some  idea  of 
the  disappointment  which  the  result  occasioned  in  Vir- 
ginia. 

Union  Seminary,  November  16,  1831. 
Eev.  and  Dkak  Sir  : 

Your  letter  from  Princeton  has  so  much  astounded  me  that 
I  shall  scarcely  be  able  to  write  an  intelligible  answer.  In 
the  phrase  of  our  Randolph,  we  are  blown  "  sky-high." 
After  the  delays  we  have  sustained  from  our  complicated 
machinery  of  government;  after  the  disappointment  in  the 
case  of  Dr.  McAuley,  and  after  the  lamented  death  of  Dr. 
Rice,  we  could  not  have  received  a  sevei'er  blow  than  this 
event.  I  expect  that  it  will  well-nigh  annihilate  our  Senior 
class;  that  it  will  so  reduce  the  Middle  class  that  it  will  be 
scarcely  worth  attention;  and  that  it  will  so  discourage  the 
Junior  as  to  render  them  discontented  and  greatly  hinder 
their  improvement.  Then  the  whole  affair  must  be  raised 
again  from  the  roots ;  and  this  event  again  will  so  discourage 
the  planting  and  nursing  of  churches  in  this  region  that  I 
should  not  be  surprised  if  many  of  our  ministers,  from  this 
fact  alone,  should  abandon  their  ground  and  go  West.  I  feel 
utterly  heart  broken  about  it.  I  wrote  last  night  to  most  of 
the  members  of  the  Board  and  others ;  but  the  Board  cannot 


97 

meet  again  this  fall,  and  tbey  could  do  nothing  if  they  did. 
I  need  not  stop  to  say  hoio,  but  we  are  so  fixed  that  another 
motion  could  not  possibly  be  made  till  December,  1832. 

I  do  not  think  that  any  will  doubt  that  you  have  acted  in 
all  this  matter  in  entire  good  faith,  nor  do  I  think  they 
will  try  to  compel  you  to  fulfd  the  engagement  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  comfort  of  your  family.  But  may  not  Mrs. 
McDowell's  objections  be  removed?  Is  it  to  come  among 
a  strange  people  that  she  objects  ?  They  are  a  delightful 
people.  I  never  knew  a  stranger  who  was  not  charmed 
with  them.  Is  it  fear  of  insurrection?  This  upper  country 
is  just  as  safe  as  Jersey.  Is  it  any  thing  that  can  be 
named,  or  is  it  merely  that  natural  misgiving  which  we 
all  feel  on  undertaking  an  unusual  enterprise,  and  passing 
into  another  sphere?  This  often  depends  merely  on  our 
health  at  the  moment,  or  on  the  agitation  of  parting,  and 
will  all  pass  away.  I  know  not  what  the  Great  God  has  de- 
signed by  this  event  —  perhaps  it  is  to  rebuke  our  trust  in 
man  —  perhaps  to  try  the  strength  of  your  devotion  to  his 
cause,  or  to  test  the  generosity  and  self-denial  of  your  peo- 
ple. We  must  wait  for  the  providence  of  God  to  explain 
itself.  Yours  in  the  Gospel  bond, 

HIEAM  P.  GOODRICH. 

That  the  delicate  and  difficult  subject  of  Slavery 
was  not  overlooked  by  Dr.  McDowell  or  his  friends  in 
view  of  the  prospect  of  his  becoming  an  inhabitant  of 
the  South,  is  clearly  shown  by  the  statement  he  made 
on  occasion  of  the  reference,  which  still  remains  in 
manuscript,  as  well  as  by  various  letters  addressed 
to  him  from  the  South  about  that  time.  To  the  re- 
ferees, to  whom  he  stated  candidly  the  objections  to 
9 


98 

his  going  as  well  as  the  considerations  that  favoured 
it,  he  spoke  thus. 

"Another  difficulty  which  I  have  been  called  most  seriously 
to  look  at, —  and  I  confess  it  has  been  and  still  is  an  appall- 
ing one,  is  Slavery.  I  have  also  long  believed  it  to  be  a 
serious  evil  to  bring  up  a  faniilj  of  children  under  its  in- 
fluence. I  have  also  supposed  the  time  would  come,  and 
probably  was  not  far  distant,  when  the  inhabitants  of  the 
South  would  have  very  serious  trouble  from  that  quarter. 
The  difficulty  in  my  mind  was  greatly  increased  by  the 
heart-rending  intelligence  received  after  my  nomination  by 
the  Synod  of  North  Carolina,  and  while  I  was  considering 
the  subject  of  removal, —  I  mean  the  tidings  of  the  dreadful 
massacre  in  Southampton,  and  the  almost  universal  excite- 
ment, anxiety  and  alarm  created  by  this  event  throughout 
the  Southern  States.  I  have  frequently  inquired  whether  it 
was  my  duty  to  take  a  family  of  females  from  the  midst  of 
tranquillity,  as  it  regards  this  subject,  into  the  midst  of  such 
a  state  of  things.  Besides,  I  have  been  aware  that,  espe- 
cially in  the  present  state  of  great  excitement  on  this  sub- 
ject, it  will  be  almost  impossible  for  Northern  men  to  avoid 
being  suspected,  and  that  going  there  at  this  time,  to  have 
the  public  confidence,  they  will  need  most  consummate 
prudence.  But  still  I  made  up  my  mind,  in  full  view  of  all 
these  difficulties,  that  it  was  my  duty  to  go  to  Virginia. 
Besides,  I  supposed  that  the  Union  Seminar}^,  if  sustained, 
might  be  instrumental  of  increasing  the  number  of  well 
qualified  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and  thus  become  an  im- 
portant auxiliary  in  gradually  lessening,  and  eventually 
terminating,  the  evils  of  Slavery.  But  still  I  admit  it  is  a 
question  whether  this  will  not  be  better  done  by  Southern 
men  against  whom  the  public  will  not  have  suspicion  on 
this  subject." 


99 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  from  bis 

brother,  Dr.  William  A.  McDowell,  at  that  time  Pastor 

of  a  church  in  Charleston,  S.  C,  bearing  date  October 

22d. 

,    I  have  been  anxious  to  know  what  your  decision  would  be  in 
regard  to  the  Virginia  Professorship,  and  from  what  I  have 
heard,  as  well  as  from  your  own  letters,  I  have  received  the 
impression  that  you  will  most  probably  accept  the  appointment. 
Were  I  disposed  to  give  an  opinion  in  the  case,  it  would  now 
be  too  late  ;    as   you  will  probably  have   decided  before  this 
reaches  you,  and  it  is  perhaps  quite  as  well  that  I  have  not  had 
an  opportunity  to  express  an  opinion.     The  state  of  things  in 
this  portion  of  the  Southern  country  has  been  such  for  some 
time  past  that,  were  my  opinion  asked,  I  could  hardly  advise 
any  good  man  from  the  North  to  remove  into  this  region.     I 
hope  the  state  of  things  in  Virginia  is  different  from  what  it  is 
in  South  Carolina.    But  really,  such  is  the  feeling  in  this  State, 
such  deep  rooted  hostility  against  every  thing  Northern,  such 
a  spirit  of  reckless  opposition  to  the  General  Government,  and 
such  is  our  domestic  state  in   reference  to   the   slaves,    that 
nothing  but  a  hope  that  I  am  doing  good  here,  and  that  I  am 
needed,  would  keep  me  in  South  Carolina  a  single  week.     As 
to  myself,  no  one  could  be  more  desirably  situated  than  I  am. 
With  a  congregation  exactly  suited  to  my  mind,  and  most  ten- 
derly attached  to  me,  and  to  whom  I,  in  turn,  am  sincerely  de- 
voted, and  surrounded  by  a  large  circle  of  friends,  who  do  all 
they  can  to  promote  my  usefulness  and  happiness — to  leave 
them  would  indeed  be  a  severe  trial.     And  yet  such  is  the  agi- 
tated and  uncertain  state  of  things  here,  that  I  cannot  but 
consider  it  doubtful  whether  I  shall  remain  in  the  South  six 
months  longer.     Indeed,  how  near  we  are  to  a  revolution  here 
is  known  only  to  Him  who  sees  the  end  from  the  beginning. 
But  I  am  touching  on  a  delicate  subject,  and  will  say  no  more." 


100 

The  following  is  from  a  Presbyterian  clergyman,  at 
that  time  Pastor  of  one  of  the  most  important  city 
congregations  in  Virginia. 

"  I  take  it  for  granted,  if  you  decide  to  come,  you  will  come 
prepared  to  conform,  so  far  as  is  lawful  and  expedient,  with  the 
peculiarities  of  the  society  in  which  you  reside.  On  the  whole 
subject  of  Slavery,  particularly,  a  Northern  man  will  find  much 
to  call  for  a  prudent  forbearance.  After  residing  here  seven 
years,  I  could  say  things  on  that  subject,  which  I  believe  to  be 
both  true  and  important,  that  would  make  it  necessary  for  me 
to  decamp  in  a  week.  And  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Semi- 
nary there  is  perhaps  more  jealousy  and  sensitiveness  than 
here.  But  I  ask  myself  ciii  bono?  And  how  is  the  evil  ever 
to  be  removed,  unless  they^  who  abhor  it,  so  far  keep  silent  as 
to  permit  them  to  stay  in  the  midst  of  it,  and  do  what  they 
can  ?  On  this  subject  it  is  expected  that  our  Legislature  will 
take  some  decisive  step  towards  its  ultimate  removal  this  win- 
ter. Let  the  ball  once  be  set  in  motion,  and  there  are  a  thou- 
sand forces  ready  to  come  in,  and  push  it  onward." 

In  the  summer  of  1832,  the  Asiatic  cholera  first 
made  its  appearance  in  this  country,  and  for  several 
weeks  prevailed  with  desolating  power  in  Elizabeth- 
town.  During  this  period.  Dr.  McDowell  not  only  re- 
mained at  his  post,  but  was  indefatigable  in  his  atten- 
tions to  the  suffering,  mingling  with  them  as  a  friend 
and  comforter,  night  and  day.  His  letters  to  some  of 
his  friends,  written  at  this  time,  show  that  he  was 
deeply  affected  by  this  awful  visitation,  and  that  his 
most  earnest  desire  was  that  it  might  be  instrumental 


101 

of  disturbing  the  spiritual  slumbers  of  the  multitude 
around  him. 

About  the  beginning  of  December,  1832,  Dr. 
McDowell  went  on  a  short  begging  tour  to  the  South, 
as  far  as  Washington  city,  in  behalf  of  Princeton  Col- 
lege. On  the  11th,  he  wrote  the  following  letter  to  his 
daughter  Elizabeth,  from  Baltimore. 

My  Deab  Daughter: 

I  wrote  a  letter  to  your  sister  on  Saturday  evening,  after 
my  arrival  at  this  place  from  Washington.  I  have  been 
much  better  since  my  return  to  this  city,  and  indeed  feel 
almost  well.  I  am  staying  in  a  very  charming  family,  —  Dr. 
Baker's,  where  I  have  refined,  pious  society,  and  every  atten- 
tion I  could  wish.  They  are  Methodists.  I  do  not  expect  to 
be  home  this  week,  and  probably  not  unfil  the  latter  end  of 
next  week,  if  even  then.  I  see  from  the  Observer  that  Gov- 
ernor Southard  has  issued  his  Proclamation  for  a  day  of 
Thanksgiving,  on  the  20th  inst.  I  wish  to  be  at  home  by 
that  time,  if  practicable,  and  will  if  I  consistently  can.  Tell 
the  elders  to  have  meeting  appointed  at  the  usual  time,  —  one 
service;  and  a  collection  for  the  poor  of  the  congregation,  as 
usual  on  such  an  occasion. 

You  will,  I  suppose,  like  to  have  an  exact  history  of  my 
movements,  since  the  date  of  my  last  letter.  I  preached  for 
Mr.  Nevins,  morning  and  afternoon,  and  assisted  him  in  the 
Communion.  I  also  attended  with  him  in  the  evening  in  his 
session-house,  and  followed  him  with  an  exhortation.  Yes- 
terday and  to-day  I  have  been  diligently  engaged  in  the 
business  of  the  College,  and  am  getting  on  slowly.  I  have 
collected,  since  I  left  home,  $S11,  and  have  got  new  sub- 
scriptions to  the  amount  of  $16t0.  I  have  endeavoured  to-day 
*9 


102 

to  be  ready  to  set  my  face  towards  home  to-morrow  morning; 
but  have  finally  given  up  the  idea.  I  do  not  expect  to  col- 
lect much,  if  any  thing,  more  here;  but  I  find  I  can  not  leave 
things  as  I  wish  to  leave  them  unless  I  remain  over  to-mor- 
row. My  present  plan  is  to  leave  here  on  Thursday  morning 
at  half-past  six,  and  stop  at  Newcastle,  Del.,  which  we  shall 
reach  by  a  little  after  noon,  and  spend  the  remainder  of  the 
day  and  the  night  there;  on  Friday  go  to  Wilmington,  —  five 
miles  distant,  and  there  spend  the  day  and  night,  and  if  I 
find  it  for  the  interests  of  the  College,  spend  the  Sabbath  also; 
but  it  is  more  likely  that  I  shall  go  up  to  Philadelphia  on 
Saturday,  and  spend  the  Sabbath  there,  and,  after  labouring 
there  for  a  day  or  two,  proceed  homewards. 

You  will,  before  you  receive  this,  I  suppose,  have  heard  of 
President  Jackson's  Proclamation  in  regard  to  South 'Caro- 
lina. It  is  a  bold  and  decided  document,  and  pretty  much 
what  I  think  it  ought  to  be.  It  arrived  in  this  city  this 
morning.  I  spent  half  an  hour  this  evening  with  Mr.  Wirt, 
who  is  an  exceedingly  interesting  man.  But  I  must  close,  or 
I  shall  lose  the  mail,  and  can  therefore  only  add  that 
I  am  your  aifectionate  father, 

JOHN  McDowell. 

The  following  extract  of  a  letter  which  he  addressed 
to  his  brother-in-law,  the  Rev.  Shepard  Kollock,  on  the' 
22d  of  January,  1833,  contains  a  statement  of  two  in- 
teresting events  in  his  history,  which  occurred  about 
this  time — namely,  bis  being  called  to  the  church  in 
Princeton,  and  his  being  appointed  General  Agent  and 
Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Missions. 

"  You  inquire  about  Princeton.     The  report  you  mention 
in  your  letter,  that  a  call  has  been  made  out  for  me  to  become 


103 

Pastor  of  that  congregation,  is,  T  suppose,  true.  Little  did  I 
think,  at  the  time  I  wrote  to  you  from  Washington,  that  they 
had  any  such  thoughts  respecting  me.  Not  an  individual  of 
that  congregation  has  ever  spoken  to  me  on  the  subject,  or 
sounded  me  in  respect  to  it,  in  the  most,  distant  or  indirect 
way.  I  spent  a  day  in  Princeton  on  my  way  Southward,  but 
no  allusion  was  made  to  it.  I  stopped  there  also  on  my  re- 
turn, but  not  a  word  was  said  to  me  looking  towards  any 
such  measure.  I  first  heard  of  it  in  my  own  house  on  my 
return.  Professor  Dod  had  preached  for  me  the  Sabbath 
before,  and  had  mentioned  to  my  family  that  a  call  would  be 
made  out  for  me  the  next  day.  It  was,  as  I  understand,  in- 
formally voted,  and  has  since  been  formally  confirmed  ;  but  I 
have  as  yet  received  no  official  notice  of  it.  I  have  received 
one  letter  from  Professor  Dod,  and  another  from  Dr.  Miller, 
informing  me  of  the  fact ;  but  their  letters  were  altogether 
unofficial,  and  I  have  made  no  reply.  The  salary  voted,  I 
understand,  is  a  thousand  dollars  and  the  parsonage.  I 
understand  they  do  not  intend  to  make  any  official  communi- 
cation to  me  until  their  call  has  been  before  their  Presbytery. 
I  have  not  yet  given  the  subject  a  serious  thought,  and  I 
doubt  whether  I  shall,  if  the  plan  is  simply  that  I  shall  be- 
come Pastor  of  that  church.  Last  night  I  received  a  letter 
from  a  committee  of  the  Board  of  Missions,  informing  me  of 
an  appointment  to  be  (as  I  suppose)  General  Agent  and  Sec- 
retary of  that  Board,  to  be  stationed  in  New  York,  with  a 
salary  of  two  thousand  dollars  per  annum.  You  know  Mr. 
Eussell  has  resigned  his  office  and  gone  to  Cincinnati,  and 
has  become  agent  for  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi.  I  have 
been  repeatedly  applied  to  in  personal  conversation,  and  also 
by  letter  from  different  parts  of  the  Church,  earnestly  press- 
ing me  to  consent  to  suffer  my  name  to  be  presented  ;  but  I 
have  uniformly  put  a  most  decided  negative  on  the  applica- 
tions. I  know  not  what  the  plans  are  now  in  proposing  to 
locate  me  in  New  York  ;  but  I  intend  to  go  over  to-morrow, 


104 

as  they  have  invited  me  to  a  personal  interview.  What 
Providence  intends  by  these  movements  at  this  time,  I  can- 
not tell.  I  sometimes  think  it  is  his  intention  to  remove  me 
from  this  place.  I  feel  as  though  I  needed  a  location  of  less 
labour." 

But,  notwithstanding  Dr.  McDowell  promptly  declined 
the  call  both  to  the  Secretaryship  of  the  Board  of  Mis- 
sions, and  the  Pastorship  at  Princeton,  things  were  now 
being  put  in  train  for  his  removal  from  his  charge  at 
Elizabethtown.  A  new  church,  an  offshoot  from  the 
church  in  Arch  Street,  Philadelphia,  was  in  the  process 
of  being  formed;  and,  as  early  as  December,  1832,  Dr. 
McDowell  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Alexander  Henry, 
who  was  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  new  enterprise,  in- 
quiring whether  there  was  any  hope  that  he  would  lis- 
ten to  an  invitation  from  them  to  become  their  Pastor. 
Notwithstanding  the  Doctor's  attachment  to  his  con- 
gregation was  undiminished,  his  health  had  become  so 
much  impaired  that  he  felt  inadequate  to  the  duties  of 
so  extensive  a  charge ;  and,  in  addition  to  this,  some 
circumstances  occurred,  about  this  time,  in  connection 
with  what  was  commonly  called  "  the  new  measures" 
in  revivals  of  religion,  (in  which  perhaps  nine-tenths  of 
his  congregation  had  as  little  sympathy  as  himself,) 
which  occasioned  him  no  small  uneasiness,  and  predis- 
posed him  the  more  readily  to  listen  to  overtures  look- 


105 

ing  towards  a  removal.  In  February  following,  he 
received  an  urgent  request  to  come  to  Philadelphia, 
and  administer  the  Communion  to  the  new  church,  on 
the  24th  of  March,  which  request  he  found  it  conven- 
ient to  comply  with,  having  occasion  to  be  in  Philadel- 
phia about  that  time  on  business  connected  with  Prince- 
ton College.  After  this  visit,  he  received  an  assurance 
from  Mr.  Henry  and  Mr.  Bevan  that,  if  he  would  give 
any  encouragement  that  he  would  come  to  them,  a 
unanimous  call  to  him  would  undoubtedly  be  made  out. 
The  result  was,  as  appears  from  a  letter  addressed  to 
him  by  Mr.  Bevan,  on  the  23d  of  April,  that  such  a 
call  was  made  out,  the  salary  offered  him  being  two 
thousand  dollars.  This  call  he  accepted,  and,  the 
usual  course  having  been  gone  through  in  Presbytery, 
he  was  released  from  his  pastoral  charge.  He  preached 
his  Farewell  Sermon  on  the  12th  of  May.  The  follow- 
ing paragraphs  form  the  conclusion  of  it. 

"  Thus  I  have  endeavoured  to  illustrate  the  Apostle's 
farewell  advice.  Dear  Brethren,  practically  attend  to  it, 
and  the  promise  of  the  text  will  be  yours  — '  the  God  of  love 
and  peace  will  be  with  you.'  And  if  He  is  with  you,  all  will 
be  well.  He  will  be  with  you  to  bless  you.  He  will  soon  give 
you  another  Pastor  after  his  own  heart  to  go  in  and  out 
before  you,  and  to  distribute  unto  you  the  bread  of  life.  He 
will  continue  your  prosperity  as  a  congregation,  and  will 
bless  the  means  of  grace,  and  make  them  a  blessing  to  your 


106 

souls.  Then  the  bereavement  which  I  know  many  of  you 
deplore,  will  be  more  than  made  up;  and  the  heart  of  the 
speaker,  though  at  a  distance,  will  be  rejoiced.  May  the 
Lord,  of  his  infinite  mercy,  graciously  fulfil  this  precious 
promise  to  you. 

"A  few  words  more,  and  my  ministry  is  closed,  and  I  re- 
sign my  interesting  charge  into  the  hands  of  the  Great  Head 
of  the  Church,  who  entrusted  me  with  it,  'and  await  the 
decisions  of  the  final  judgment,  when  we  must  mutually  give 
an  account  of  the  ministry  I  have  exercised  among  you. 

"  I  bid  the  Session  of  this  church  an  affectionate  farewell. 
I  entered  on  my  ministry  an  inexperienced  youth,  and  found 
a  Session  who  were  counsellors  indeed.  By  their  wisdom, 
their  counsels  and  their  prayers,  they  directed,  assisted  and 
sustained  me.  I  have  lived  to  bury  them  all  except  one  dear 
father,  who  is  still  left.  I  desire  heartily  to  thank  God  this 
day  for  the  blessings  I  have  enjoyed,  in  being  favoured  with  a. 
wise  and  active  Session,  between  whom  and  myself  there 
was,  so  far  as  I  know,  for  twenty-seven  years,  mutual  and 
entire  confidence.  We  have  consulted  and  conversed  with- 
out reserve,  and  have  almost  thought  as  one.  Such  a  bless- 
ing is  an  unspeakable  assistance  and  comfort  to  a  minister. 

"  On  you,  dear  brethren,  will  now  devolve  a  great  respon- 
sibility. On  your  wisdom,  and  activity,  and  fidelity  to  your 
trust,  under  God,  depends  the  prosperity  of  this  Church  more 
than  on  almost  any  thing  else.  Feel  your  responsibility. 
Seek  light  and  strength  from  Heaven.  Be  men  of  prayer. 
Be  exemplary  in  your  walk  and  conversation.  Punctually 
attend  and  keep  up  the  meetings  for  prayer  and  social  wor- 
ship. Act  in  all  your  official  duties  with  meekness,  but  at 
the  same  time  with  promptness,  decision  and  firmness.  Ee- 
spect  yourselves  if  you  expect  the  people  to  respect  you. 

'And,  dear  brethren  of  the  Congregation,  respect  your 
elders  for  the  office  which  they  sustain.  Pray  much  for 
them,  and  give  them  your  countenance  and  support  in  the 


107 

performance  of  their  official  duties.     This  is  your  duty,  and 
the  interests  of  the  congregation  imperiously  require  it. 

"Brethren  of  the  Congregation,  accept  my  thanks  for  the 
many  instances  of  marked  kindness  I  have  received  at  your 
hands,  and  have  continued  to  receive  until  this  hour.  At 
parting,  I  invoke  the  blessing  of  Heaven  to  rest  upon  you. 
And  my  prayers  shall  still  be  offered  up  for  your  prosperity. 
In  your  prosperity  I  will  rejoice;  and  if  adversity  should 
come  upon  you,  (which  God,  of  his  infinite  mercy  forbid,) 
I  will  mourn.  I  ask  your  prayers  for  me  when  I  am  gone, 
that  God  would  go  with  me  and  bless  me,  and  still  make  me 
a  blessing  to  the  Kingdom  of  our  dear  Saviour. 

"  Dear  Youth  —  hearken  to  my  parting  advice.  Give  your 
hearts  to  God  without  delay.  Remember  now  your  Creator 
in  the  days  of  your  youth.  Seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God 
and  his  righteousness. 

"  Christian  brethren,  old  and  young,  I  repeat  to  you  the 
apostolic  advice  — '  Be  perfect,  be  of  good  comfort,  be  of 
one  mind' — walk  worthy  of  your  high  vocation — live  con- 
stantly for  God  and  Heaven.  Many  of  you  are  my  spiritual 
children.  You  may  have  hereafter  many  instructors,  but 
you  will  have  but  one  father.  Dearly  beloved,  ye  are  my 
joy  and  my  crown.  For  you  I  ought  to  feel,  and  trust  I 
ever  will  feel,  a  peculiar  interest.  Live  near  to  God  —  grow 
in  grace  —  press  forward  toward  the  mark.  We  part ;  but 
we  shall  soon  meet  again  in  another  world.  May  it  be  at 
the  right  hand  of  the  Saviour:  and  may  I  then  see  you  all 
presented  faultless  before  the  presence  of  his  glory,  and  be 
enabled  to  say  with  exceeding  joy,  "  Lord,  behold  me  and 
the  children  whom  thou  hast  given  me." 

"  But,  my  dear  hearers,  how  shall  I  take  my  leave  of  you 
who  are  still  impenitent,  and  out  of  the  ark  of  safety.  This 
is  painful  work.  As  far  as  my  ministry  is  concerned,  the 
harvest  is  past,  the  summer  is  ended,  and  ye  are  not  saved. 
And  must  I  leave  you  in  this  state,  and  my  ministry  prove 


108 

to  you  a  savour  of  death  unto  death.  And  he  to  whom  many 
of  you  have  manifested  such  marked  kindness  and  friend- 
ship, be  a  witness  against  you  at  the  bar  of  God!  May  the 
Lord  avert  such  a  doom.  Once  more  before  we  part,  I  call 
upon  you  and  beseech  you  to  repent,  and  accept  an  oflFered 
Saviour,  that  we  may  meet  and  rejoice  together  in  a  better 
world. 

"Brethren,  my  work  is  done.  Here  I  close  up  the  book 
of  my  ministry,  until  it  is  opened  again  by  your  Judge  and 
mine  in  the  great  day  of  account.  Until  that  meeting,  dear 
brethren,  farewell." 

Thus  closed  a  most  laborious,  faithful  and  useful 
ministry  at  Elizabethtown,  of  twenty-eight  years. 


109 


CHAPTER   III. 

His    Ministry    in    Connection    with    the    Central 
Church,  Philadelphia. 

Dr.  McDowell  was  installed  Pastor  of  the  Central 
Church,  Philadelphia,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Philadel- 
phia, on  the  6th  of  June,  1833, — the  services  being 
performed  in  what  was  called  the  Whitefield  Academy 
or  Chapel,  where  the  church  had  worshipped  from  the 
time  of  its  organization.  Dr.  Engles  preached  the 
Installation  Sermon,  Dr.  Neill  presided  and  proposed 
the  constitutional  questions  ;  Dr.  Miller  gave  the  Charge 
to  the  Pastor;  and  Dr.  John  Breckenridge  the  Charge 
to  the  People.  His  ministry  here  commenced  under 
very  auspicious  circumstances,  tha  perfect  harmony  of 
the  congregation  combining  with  the  high  qualifica- 
tions and  reputation  of  the  Pastor,  to  give  promise  of 
great  comfort  and  usefulness. 

But,  notwithstanding  Dr.  McDowell  found  himself  in 
the  midst  of  a  people  with  whom  he  had  every  reason 
to  be  satisfied,  his  affections  were  by  no  means  with- 
drawn from  the  congregation  from  which  he  had  been 
separated ;  he  still  felt  the   deepest  interest  in  their 

welfare,  and  was  on  the  alert  to  do  every  thing  in  his 
10 


110 

power  to  promote  it.  The  Rev.  (afterwards  Dr.) 
Nicholas  Murray,  then  Pastor  of  a  church  in  Wilkes- 
barre,  Pa.,  had  preached  in  his  pulpit  at  Elizabeth- 
town,  a  few  months  before,  in  behalf  of  one  of  the 
benevolent  objects  of  the  Church,  and  had  attracted 
much  more  than  ordinary  attention.  On  the  same  day 
that  Dr.  McDowell  preached  his  Farewell  Sermon,  a 
committee  of  the  congregation  waited  on  him  and 
requested  that  he  would  procure  some  member  of  the 
General  Assembly,  then  about  to  commence  its  sessions 
in  Philadelphia,  to  preach  for  them  on  the  succeeding 
Sabbath,  and  one  whom  he  would  consider  a  suitable 
person  to  become  his  successor.  On  arriving  in  Phila- 
delphia, he  found  that  Mr.  Murray  was  there  as  a  dele- 
gate to  the  Assembly,  and,  from  his  previous  favourable 
impressions  concerniog  him,  he  had  no  hesitation  in 
proposing  to  him  to  supply  the  vacant  pulpit.  Mr.  Mur- 
ray accepted  the  invitation ;  the  result  of  which  was  that 
he  received  an  unanimous  call  to  become  Dr.  McDow- 
ell's successor.  Being  greatly  embarrassed  in  respect 
to  the  question  of  duty  in  the  new  circumstances  in 
which,  he  was  now  placed,  he  wrote  to  the  Doctor,  ear- 
nestly requesting  his  advice ;  and  the  answer,  though 
characterized  by  proper  caution,  was  nevertheless 
clearly   and  decidedly  in  favour   of  his  accepting  the 


Ill 

call.  He  did  accept  it,  and,  by  the  united  request  of 
Mr.  Murray  and  the  congregation,  Dr.  McDowell  was 
present  on  the  occasion  of  the  Installation,  and  de- 
livered the  Charge  to  the  Pastor.  His  relations  with 
both  Mr.  Murray  and  the  people  were,  ever  after,  of  the 
most  intimate  and  affectionate  kind ;  and  his  occasional 
visits  at  Elizabethtown,  which  were  continued  almost 
to  the  close  of  his  life,  were  always  most  gratefully 
welcomed,  as  well  by  his  distinguished  successor  in  the 
ministry,  as  by  the  people  whom  he  had  so  long  and 
so  faithfully  served. 

On  the  23d  of  February,  1834,  the  Central  Church 
edifice  was  opened  for  public  worship,  and  was  dedicat- 
ed to  the  service  of  Almighty  God.  On  that  occasion, 
the  Pastor  preached  in  the  morning,  Dr.  Miller  in  the 
afternoon,  and  Dr.  Neill  in  the  evening.  The  follow- 
ing paragraphs  formed  the  conclusion  of  Dr.  McDow- 
ell's Dedication  Sermon,  the  text  of  which  was  Isaiah, 
LX,  13. 

"  As  a  Church,  we  are  yet  in  our  infancy.  The  congrega- 
tion was  organized  May  21,  1832,  in  the  Franklin  Institute 
on  Seventh  Street,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Aaron  W.  Leland,  of  Charles- 
ton, S.  C,  presiding.  This  was  just  a  year  and  nine  months 
since.  The  church  was  organized  a  month  afterwards, — 
namely,  on  the  19th  of  June,  in  the  Whitefield  Academy  in 
Fourth  Street;  on  which  occasion  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  Mc- 
Auley,  now  of  New  York,   presided.     The  Sacrament  of  the 


112 

Lord's  Supper  was  first  administered  on  Sabbath,  the  24th  of 
June,  1832;  so  that  the  church,  as  such,  has  been  in  exist- 
ence only  twenty  months.  The  congregation  have,  since 
that  time,  worshipped  in  the  Academy  on  Fourth  Street,  and 
have  there  enjoyed  much  of  the  presence  of  God  and  of  the 
evidence  of  his  favour,  and  have  gradually  and  rapidly  in- 
creased. 

"  The  circumstances  which  led  to  the  formation  of  this 
church  are  well  known  to  this  community,  as  having  been 
deeply  afflictive.  But  God,  in  his  providence,  has  overruled 
for  good  the  separation  caused  by  them,  and  will  render  it, 
we  hope,  eventually  the  means  of  advancing  his  Kingdom. 
This  people  have,  under  their  trials  and  the  great  sacrifices 
to  which  they  have  been  called,  had  the  approbation  of  their 
own  consciences,  the  sympathy  and  favour  of  the  public  in 
general,  and  the  approbation  of  God  signally  expressed  by 
the  smiles  of  his  providence,  continually  prospering  them 
ever  since  they  became  a  separate  people  till  this  day. 

"It  is  well  known  that  the  congregation  had  its  origin  in 
the  afflictions  and  death  of  the  Rev  Joseph  Sanford,  late 
Pastor  of  the  church,  of  which,  under  his  ministry,  they 
formed  a  part.  Their  attachment  to  him  was  great,  and  it 
was  truly  merited;  for  he  was  an  able,  faithful,  devoted,  and 
highly  useful  servant  of  God.  This  had  been  proved  by  his 
ministry  in  a  very  important  congregation  of  which  he  had 
the  charge  before  he  came  to  this  city,  and  where  he  was 
universally  respected  and  beloved,  and  eminently  useful. 
And  it  was  further  proved  during  his  short  but  successful 
ministry  in  this  city.  For  his  age,  he  had  gained,  in  a  re- 
markable degree,  the  affection  and  confidence  of  his  brethren 
in  the  ministry;  and  his  praise  was  very  extensively  in  the 
churches.  And  when  he  fell  by  death,  the  stroke  was  felt 
and  mourned  over,  not  only  by  this  people,  but  throughout 
this  city,  and  far  and  wide  through  our  Church.  But  I  for- 
bear.    Your  loss  was  his  gain.     He  was  soon  called  to  his 


113 

rest  and  his  gracious  reward ;  and  not  improbably  his  glori- 
fied spirit  may  be  hovering,  with  ministering  angels,  over 
this  assembly  to-day,  rejoicing  in  the  prosperity  of  his  be- 
loved people,  and  praising  God  for  it. 

"  On  the  22d  of  last  April,  just  ten  months  since,  the 
corner  stone  of  this  church  edifice  was  laid,  with  religious 
solemnity,  by  the  Rev.  John  Breckenridge.  On  the  same 
day,  the  congregation  elected  the  speaker  to  be  their  Pastor, 
who  was  installed  on  the  6th  of  June  following.  This  build- 
ing is  now  completed,  and  we  behold  in  it  one  of  the  things 
mentioned  in  this  discourse,  as  entering  into  the  beauty  and 
glory  of  a  particular  Church.  You  have  a  house  of  worship 
in  which  simplicity,  order,  beauty  and  richness  are  united: 
and  you  have  great  reason  to-day,  with  lively  gratitude,  to 
make  mention  of  the  goodness  of  God,  whose  gracious  hand 
has  been  upon  you,  prospering  the  work  which  He  has  given 
you  the  disposition  and  the  means  to  undertake  and  carry 
forward;  that  he  has  kindly  preserved  the  lives  and  the 
limbs  of  the  workmen;  and  that  he  has  enabled  you  to  bring 
so  great  a  work  to  a  favourable  conclusion.  And  while  you 
give  all  the  glory  to  the  Lord,  you  owe  thanks  to  the  promi- 
nent instruments  in  this  work.  Your  gratitude  is  due  to  the 
building  committee,  who  have  gratuitously  devoted  so  much 
time  to  the  superintendence  of  it,  and  have  managed  it  with 
so  much  skill  and  fidelity;  and  also  to  the  architects  who 
planned,  and  the  workmen  who  have  executed  it,  with  so 
much  taste,  wisdom  and  despatch. 

"You  have  now.  Brethren,  convened  in  this  edifice  for  the 
first  time,  with  a  view  to  dedicate  it  to  that  God,  who  has  so 
signally  helped  and  prospered  you,  —  the  God  of  your  fathers 
and  your  God.  This  has  already  been  done  in  the  prayer 
which  we  have  offered.  And  now,  again,  would  I,  in  the 
name,  and  on  the  behalf  of  the  congregation,  who  have 
erected  this  building,  dedicate  it  to  the  service  of  the  Triune 
God,  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  to  be  used  in  his  wor- 
*10 


114 

ship,  and  for  his  glory.  And  may  He  graciously  accept  the 
dedication  !  May  He  here  record  his  great  name !  May  his 
holy  and  blessed  presence  ever  be  vouchsafed  in  this  house, 
and  his  glory  here  be  manifested!  May  his  special  blessing 
ever  rest  upon  the  assemblies  that  shall  convene  for  his  wor- 
ship, and  of  many  may  it  be  said,  they  were  born  here,  and 
here  were  fed  with  the  bread  of  life,  and  were  built  up  in 
faith  and  holiness,  and  prepared  for  a  place  in  the  temple 
above ! 

"This  is  now  the  house  of  God;  and  may  its  beauty  and 
glory  as  a  house  ever  be  an  apt  emblem  of  the  spiritual 
beauty  and  glory  of  this  church,  which  is  statedly  to  wor- 
ship here.  If  you  would  enjoy,  and  continue  to  enjoy,  the 
presence  and  blessing  of  God,  and  secure  them  to  your  child- 
ren, and  children's  children,  you  must  possess,  maintain  and 
exhibit  those  spiritual  ornaments  of  a  church,  which  have 
been  presented,  —  namely,  soundness  in  the  faith,  gospel  disci- 
pline, peace  and  love,  and  patient  holiness.  These  spiritual 
ornaments,  which,  in  the  sight  of  God  are  of  far  higher 
value  than  a  splendid  house  of  worship,  I  hope  you,  as  a 
church,  possess.  Continue  to  prize  and  cherish  them,  and 
guard  against  every  thing  which  may  mar  their  beauty  or 
lessen  their  attractiveness.  For  if  corrupt  doctrines  should 
be  taught  from  this  desk,  and  be  received  by  the  people,  if 
discipline  should  be  neglected  and  the  openly  scandalous 
be  retained  in  the  bosom  of  the  church;  if  you  should  become 
divided  into  irreconcilable  factions  and  parties;  or  if  profes- 
sing Christians  should  generally  become  lukewarm  and  for- 
mal; though  this  house  may  still  stand  beautiful  and  glorious 
in  appearance,  your  real  beauty  as  a  church  will  be  defaced, 
and  your  real  glory  will  have  departed  from  you.  Brethren, 
sedulously  guard  against  these  things,  and  warn  your  child- 
ren against  them.  Maintain  soundness  of  doctrine.  While 
.you  exercise  charity  towards  other  denominations   who  may 


115 

diflfer  from  you  in  non-essential  points,  do  you,  as  a  church, 
ever  adhere  strictly  to  the  doctrines  taught  in  the  standards 
which  you  profess  to  adopt  —  they  are,  we  believe,  the 
truths  of  God's  word.  Guard  the  doctrines  of  this  church. 
It  is  an  age  of  innovation  and  error.  Let  a  departure  from 
our  standards  never  be  countenancedby  those  who  may  stand 
in  the  place  which  I  now  occupy. 

"  Maintain  the  order  of  Christ's  house.  Let  the  Session  of 
this  church  ever  be  faithful  in  the  due  performance  of  gospel 
discipline,  and  let  the  church  encourage  and  support  them  in 
it.  Let  no  root  of  bitterness  ever  be  tolerated  among  you. 
Be  at  peace  among  yourselves,  and  ever  study  the  things 
which  make  for  peace.  And  by  holy  obedience  to  the  pre- 
cepts of  the  Gospel,  glorify  God,  and  adorn  the  religion  of 
Christ.     And  teach  these  things  to  your  children  also. 

"  Dear  brethren,  while  you  to-day  dedicate  this  house  to 
the  God  of  your  fathers,  dedicate  yourselves  also  anew 
to  His  service.  Let  the  heart  of  each  one  of  you  be  conse- 
crated as  a  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Let  those  who  are 
now  the  children  of  God  devote  themselves  afresh  to  his  ser- 
vice, and,  with  their  entrance  into  this  new  house  of  worship, 
begin  their  lives  anew,  by  a  degree  of  holy  living  and  of  zeal 
for  Christ  which  they  never  before  manifested. 

"  And  let  those  who  have  never  yet  given  their  hearts  to 
God,  see  to  it  that  this  interesting  occasion  marks  their  en- 
trance upon  a  new  life.  Let  them  to-day  form  the  resolution 
that  they  will  no  longer  be  mere  external  worshippers,  but 
that  they  will,  without  delay,  seek  the  Lord,  give  him  their 
hearts,  and  henceforth  worship  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 
May  the  Lord,  of  his  infinite  mercy,  incline  your  hearts  so 
to  act. 

"  And  may  He  fill  this  house  with  his  glory,  and  make  it 
his  perpetual  rest  and  dwelling  place.  May  He  abundantly 
bless  the  provisions  of  this  his  house,  and  here  satisfy  his 
poor  with  bread;  may  He  here  clothe  his  ministers  with  salva- 


116 

tion,  and  cause  his  saints  to  shout  for  joy;  and  may  many  sons 
and  daughters  here  be  born  to  God,  and  be  fed  and  fitted  for 
immortal  glory." 

In  the  winter  of  1834-35,  Dr.  McDowell  was  pros- 
trated by  severe  illness,  which  it  was  feared,  for  a  short 
time,  would  have  a  fatal  termination.  The  following 
letter  to  his  brother  Benjamin,  written  after  he  had 
partially  recovered,  is  interesting  not  merely  as  giving 
an  account  of  his  illness,  but  as  indicating  the  remark- 
able success  of  his  new  enterprise,  as  well  as  some  of 
his  proclivities  in  respect  to  the  then  existing  state  of 
things  in  the  Church. 

PmLADELPHiA,  Ilavch  11,  1835, 
My  Dear  Brother  : 

It  is  a  long  time  since  I  heard  from  yon,  as  it  probably  is 
since  you  have  heard  from  us.  I  am  now  confined  to  a  sick 
room,  where  I  have  been  nearly  three  weeks.  After  preach- 
ing on  Sabbath,  February  22d,  I  was  taken,  in  the  course  of 
the  following  night,  severely  sick.  My  disease  proved  to  be 
peripneumony  or  inflammation  of  the  lungs.  Until  the  next 
Sabbath  night,  I  was  exceedingly  ill,  and  my  physicians  pro- 
nounced my  case  a  very  critical  one.  Two  physicians  were 
in  attendance,  both  of  whom  were  unwearied  in  their  atten- 
tions and  prompt  in  their  prescriptions.  By  the  blessing  of 
God,  my  disease  yielded  in  just  one  week  from  the  time  I 
was  taken.  Since  that  time  I  have  been  gradually  recover- 
ing, though  I  am  still  quite  weak.  As  soon  as  the  weather 
will  permit,  I  hope  to  go  out.  I  have  been  labouring  dili- 
gently among  my  people  during  the  winter,  and  among  other 
things  have  been  engaged  in  pastoral  visiting  from  house  to 
house,  conversing  and  praying  with   every  family — a  new 


117 

thing,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  in  this  city.  I  have  had  much  to 
encourage  me  lately  in  my  labours.  There  has  been,  and  is, 
I  think,  among  my  people,  a  more  than  ordinary  degree  of 
seriousness.  Our  stated  season  for  the  Communion  would 
have  been  next  Sabbath,  but  it  has  been  put  off  on  account  of 
my  illness.  I  hope  we  shall  receive  considerable  additions 
from  the  world.  At  our  last  Communion  eight  were  admitted 
on  examination,  besides  a  number  on  certificate.  The  addi- 
tions on  certificate  have  averaged  nearly  twenty  at  each  Com- 
munion for  a  year  past.  My  congregation  has  greatly  in- 
creased. For  several  months  there  has  not  been  a  single  pew 
to  be  got  in  the  lower  part  of  the  house,  and  most  of  the  seats 
in  the  gallery  are  also  taken.  I  have,  I  suppose,  as  large  a 
congregation  as  there  is  in  the  city,  and  I  begin  to  feel  iden- 
tified with  them,  as  I  did  with  my  people  at  Elizabethtown. 
The  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  at  Pittsburgh,  is  fast 
approaching,  but  I  doubt  whether  I  shall  attend  it;  though  if 
I  do  not,  I  must  resign  my  office  of  Permanent  Clerk.  My 
soul  abhors  the  ecclesiastical  war  that  is  going  on;  and  I 
wish  to  be  away  from  it.  I  disapprove  the  policy  that  has 
for  years  been  pursued  by  a  few  of  the  orthodox  party.  I 
love  the  Confession  of  Faith,  every  line  of  it,  and  I  love  Pres- 
byterianism;  and  I  challenge  any  man  to  point  to  any  senti- 
ment I  ever  wrote  or  uttered,  that  is  not  in  strict  accordance 
with  it.     But  I  must  close  by  subscribing  myself 

Your  affectionate  brother, 

JOHN  McDowell. 

The  following  extract  of  a.  letter  from  Mr.  Murray 
to  Dr.  McDowell,  dated  at  Elizabethtown,  five  days 
after  the  preceding,  is  illustrative  of  the  strong  regard 
which  the  people  of  his  former  charge  still  cherished 
towards  him. 


118 

"  When  we  heard  of  your  illness  a  few  days  since,  we  all 
felt  greatly  intererested  in  what  might  be  the  result;  and  we 
feel  relieved  and  thankful  to  God  that,  by  his  good  provi- 
dence, he  has  brought  it  to  a  favourable  termination.  May 
your  health  be  perfectly  restored,  and  may  you  be  spared  to 
be  a  lasting  blessing  to  our  wounded  and  distracted  Church. 
Be  assured  that  we  all  feel  deeply  interested  in  you  here. 
From  a  hundred  family  altars,  I  have  no  doubt  that  prayer 
was  made  for  your  recovery.' ' 

Dr.  Miller,  in  a  letter  of  the  same  date,  wrote  to  him 
as  follows. 

"  Your  very  welcome  letter  of  Saturday  reached  me  this 
afternoon.  I  say  welcome,  because  a  letter  from  you  is  al- 
ways welcome,  but  as  a  practical  testimony  that  you  are 
recovering  from  your  late  severe  illness,  it  was  doubly  wel- 
come. We  all  unite  in  returning  thanks  to  God  for  your  res- 
toration, and  trust  that  you  are  given  back  to  us  in  rich  mercy 
to  yourself,  your  family,  and  the  cause  of  Christ  in  our  land. 
All  my  family  join  with  me  in  affectionate  congratulations  on 
the  joyful  event." 

There  had  been  manifested,  for  several  years,  in  the- 
General  Assembly,  a  difference  of  opinion  and  feeling 
on  a  variety  of  matters  pertaining  to  the  interests  of 
the  Church,  which  by' this  time  seriously  threatened  a 
disruption  of  the  body.  Dr.  McDowell,  not  from  any 
want  of  courage,  but  from  a  sober  conviction  of  duty, 
felt  constrained  to  occupy  an  intermediate  position  be- 
tween the  two  parties — while  he  did  not  question  the 
reality  of  many  of  the  evils  complained  of  by  the  Old 


119 

School,  he  did  not  sympathize  in  the  extreme  measures 
(as  he  regarded  them)  which  were  proposed  for  their 
removal ;  and,  above  all,  he  deprecated  any  thing  that 
looked  towards  an  ultimate  division  of  the  Church. 
The  General-  Assembly  of  1836  it  was  expected  on  all 
hands  would  have  a  very  stormy  session ;  and  so  pain- 
fully was  Dr.  McDowell  exercised  in  the  prospect,  that 
he  had,  at  one  time,  as  intimated  in  a  preceding  letter, 
well  nigh  made  up  his  mind  not  to  be  present,  though 
his  absence  must  necessarily  have  involved  the  resig- 
nation of  his  ofl&ce  as  Permanent  Clerk ;  but,  upon  ma- 
ture reflection,  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  could 
not  stay  away  in  consistency  with  his  duty.  At  this 
meeting  Dr.  Ezra  Stiles  Ely  resigned  his  ofl&ce  as 
Stated  Clerk,  and  each  party  immediately  placed  a 
candidate  in  nomination.  The  result,  however,  of  a 
united  consultation  was  that  both  candidates  were 
withdrawn,  in  favour  of  Dr.  McDowell,  in  Avhom  both 
parties  had  confidence ;  and  he  was  chosen  unanimously. 
The  Assembly  voted  not  to  choose  another  Permanent 
Clerk  at  that  meeting,  so  that  Dr.  McDowell  had  the 
double  burden  of  both  Permanent  Clerk  and  Stated 
Clerk  devolved  upon  him.  The  following  extract  of 
a  letter  written  to  his  brother  Benjamin,  while  the 
Assembly   was   in   session,   reveals   the    state  of  his 


120 

mind  in  respect  to  the  events  which  were  then  pass- 
ing. 

"  Yesterday  and  to-day,  the  Assembly  have  been  engaged 
on  the  subject  of  the  transfer  of  the  Western  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Society,  and  the  Assembly  engaging  in  Foreign 
Missions.  The  debate  has  been  dignified,  able  and  deeply 
interesting;  and,  in  the  course  of  it,  plain  intimations  have 
been  given  of  a  disposition  to  divide  our  Church.  I  fear  this 
will  be  the  case.  I  tremble  at  the  prospect;  but,  unless  the 
Lord  interpose,  this  Assembly  will  not  rise  until  some  mea- 
sures-are taken  to  efiect  this  object.  If  it  would  stop  with 
the  ministers,  I  would  not  so  deeply  deplore  it;  but  it  will 
divide,  to  a  great  extent,  our  individual  churches  throughout 
the  land.  A  proposition  is  now  before  the  Committee  of 
Overtures  to  take  steps  for  a  division  on  the  ground  of  doc- 
trine. The  subject  of  Slavery,  too,  must  come  up  —  nume- 
rous petitions  in  reference  to  it  are  already  before  the  Com- 
mittee; and  the  extreme  sensitiveness  which  the  Southern 
Commissioners  manifest  in  relation  to  it,  seems  to  me  to  look 
towards  a  separation,  not  far  distant,  of  the  North  from  the 
South.  My  only  comfort  in  this  momentous  crisis  is  that 
*  the  Lord  reigns.'  " 

In  a  letter  to  the  same  brother,  dated  May  1,  1837, 

two  or  three  weeks  before  the  General  Assembly  was 

to  convene,  he  writes  as  follows  : 

"  The  approaching  Assembly  is  looked  to  by  many  as  an 
exceedingly  important  crisis  in  our  Church  matters.  It 
probably  will  be  so;  and  great  responsibility  rests  upon 
those  of  whom  the  Assembly  will  be  composed.  Which  of 
the  two  great  parties  into  which,  unhappily,  our  Church  is 
divided,  will  be  the  majority  in  the  Assembly,  I  cannot  pre- 
dict.    I  think  it  very  doubtful;  and  the  probabiHty  is  that . 


121 

the  majority  will  be  very  small  on  either  side.  I  do  not  be- 
lieve there  will  be  a  division.  There  may  be  a  secession  of 
a  few  ultra  uneasy  spirits;  and  if  a  few  on  both  sides  were 
gone,  I  should  rejoice,  and  think  that  then  we  could  have- 
peace  and  the  blessing  of  God." 

In  a  letter  written  to  the  same  brother,   under  date 

of  January  2,  1838,  he  says: 

"  I  have  scarcely  spoken  on  the  subject  of  the  difficulties 
in  our  Church,  for  several  months.  I  am  endeavouring  this 
winter  to  devote  myself  exclusively  to  my  people.  I  am  en- 
gaged in  pastoral  visiting,  and  liave,  since  the  1st  of  Novem- 
ber, visited  a  hundred  families,  and  have  conversed  and 
prayed  with  the  members  of  each  of  them.  I  have  a  noble 
Bible  Class  weekly,  at  which  from  three  to  four  hundred 
attend.  There  is,  I  think,  an  increase  of  seriousness  among 
us;  and  this  is  the  case,  I  hope,  in  the  city  generally;  though 
we  have  in  none  of  our  churches  any  thiug  like  a  revival." 

At  the  General  Assembly  of  1838,  Dr.  McDowell 
was  deeply  wounded  by  the  adoption  of  a  Report  of 
a  Committee  on  an  alleged  discrepancy  between  the 
printed  and  manuscript  minutes  of  the  preceding 
Assembly.  Though  he  did  not  believe  that  any 
injury  was  intended,  yet  he  felt  himself  placed  in  so 
delicate  and  equivocal  an  attitude  that  he  could  not, 
in  consistency  with  his  convicJ:ions  of  what  was  due 
to  self-respect,  consent,  under  the  circumstances,  to 
retain  the  office  of  Stated  Clerk  any  longer ;  and,  ac- 
cordingly, he  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Moderator,  the 
11 


122 

Rev.  Dr.  Plumer,  tendering  his  resignation.  Though 
it  does  not  appear  that  his  communication  came  before 
the  Assembly,  it  was  the  occasion  of  the  following 
Resolution  being  passed  unanimously :  "  For  the  pur- 
pose of  preventing  any  misconception  of  the  intention 
of  the  Assembly  in  adopting  the  Report  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  the  omission  of  certain  Minutes  of  the  last 
Assembly,  and  supplying  a  defect  in  that  Report,  it  is 
Resolved  that  neither  the  Committee  of  Revision  nor 
the  Stated  Clerk  are  blamed,  nor  is  any  imputation 
cast  upon  them,  directly  or  indirectly,  as  it  is  believed 
that  all  concerned  acted  conscientiously,  according  to 
their  views  of  duty,  and  the  Assembly  cherish  undi- 
minished confidence  in  the  ability  and  fidelity  of  the 
Stated  Clerk."  This  explanatory  action  relieved  Dr. 
McDowell  of  all  embarrassment,  and  he  continued  in 
the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  office. 

Notwithstanding  Dr.  McDowell's  inability  to  en- 
dorse the  doings  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1837 
and  1838,  by  which  the  division  of  the  Church  was 
brought  about, —  believing,  as  he  did,  that  the  mea- 
sures were  unconstitutional  and  revolutionary, — when 
the  division  was  once  accomplished,  he  fell  in  heartily 
with  the  Old  School,  and  ever  afterwards  was  devoted 
to  the  interests  of  that  branch  of  the  Church.     It  ap- 


123 

pears  from  letters  that  he  wrote  while  the  legal  pro- 
cess, growing  out  of  the  division,  was  pending,  that 
his  sympathies  were  all  in  one  direction ;  and  when 
the  final  result  was  made  known,  no  one  seems  to  have 
rejoiced  in  it  more  than  himself. 

In  September,  1837,  Dr.  McDowell  preached  the 
Annual  Sermon  before  the  American  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions,  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  which  was  published.  In 
1839,  he  published  his  System  of  Theology,  in  two 
volumes,  duodecimo,  in  a  form  adapted  to  Bible 
classes. 

The  following  letter  addressed  to  Dr.  McDowell,  by 
a  daughter  of  Governor  Aaron  Ogden,  a  few  days  be- 
fore her  father's  death,  furnishes  a  striking  attestation 
to  his  sympathy  and  fidelity  as  a  Pastor. 

Jersey  City,  31arch  20,  1864. 
Rev.  and  Dear  Sir  : 

Aware  of  the  deep  interest  you  have  ever  manifested  to- 
wards our  family,  and  knowing-  by  experience  that  you  are  a 
friend  ever  ready  to  sympathize  in  our  sorrows,  it  is  quite  in 
unison  with  my  present  feelings  to  write  you,  and  give  a 
particular  account  of  the  alarming  illness  under  which  my 
dear  father  has  been  for  some  time  labouring. 

Early  in  the  winter  he  had  a  very  severe  attack  of  gout, 
which  confined  him  to  his  room  for  several  weeks,  but  he  so 
far  recovered  from  this  as  to  be  able  to  walk  and  ride  out 
occasionally  in  pleasant  weather.  About  six  weeks  since 
he  was  very  suddenly  seized  with  paralysis,  which  alarmed  us 


124 

very  much;  but  the  timely  aid  of  a  physician  seemed  to 
prevent  the  consequences  we  so  much  apprehended,  although 
it  was  very  evident  that  his  constitution  had  received  a 
severe  shock.  Two  weeks  since  he  was  visited  with  a  second 
attack,  by  which  his  brain  became  so  much  aflfected  that  he 
constantly  mistakes  those  of  his  family  who  are  around  him 
for  some  other  persons.  He  talks  continually  of  events  long 
since  past,  but  seems  to  have  no  recollection  of  recent  oc- 
currences, I  scarcely  ever  enter  his  room  that  he  does  not 
make  some  inquiries  about  you  —  he  se>?ms  to  have  an  idea 
that  you  are  still  his  Pastor,  and  often  asks  if  Dr.  McDowell 
will  not  qpme  and  visit  him,  and  pray  with  him.  A  few 
days  since  he  called  me  to  his  bedside,  and  observed  that  he 
must  soon  leave  us,  and  felt  how  hard  it  would  be  to  part 
with  his  children,  and  added, —  '  Give  my  kind  regards  to  Dr. 
McDowell,  and  tell  him  I  remembered  him  to  the  very  last.' 
I  yesterday  told  him  I  intended  vpriting  to  you  shortly,  and 
asked  him  if  he  had  any  message  to  send  you.  '  Yes,'  he 
replied,  while  the  tears  rolled  down  his  cheeks,  '  ask  Dr.  Mc- 
Dowell to  remember  me  in  his  prayers,  and  tell  him  that  I 
shall  never  forget  him.' 

The  day  we  thought  him  so  ill,  and  he  seemed  so  anxious 
to  see  you,  we  sent  for  a  clergyman  belonging  to  this  place, 
who  conversed  and  prayed  with  him,  and  it  appeared  to 
compose  and  comfort  him  very  much.  I  often  wish  you 
were  nearer  to  us  that  he  might  once  more  have  an  opportu- 
nity of  seeing  you.  The  physicians  give  us  no  encourage- 
ment to  hope  that  he  will  recover.  They  say  that  he  may 
possibly  continue  some  time,  or  he  may  be  taken  off  very 
suddenly.  We  have  certainly  great  cause  of  thankfulness 
that  the  Lord  has  continued  him  to  us  so  long;  but  still  the 
idea  of  parting  under  any  circumstances  is  extremely  pain 
ful.  My  fervent  prayer  is  that  we  may  be  prepared  for 
whatever  an  all-wise  Providence  is  preparing  for  us. 
Believe  me  your  very  sincere  friend, 

MARY  C.  BARBER. 


125 

At  the  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  in  1840,  Dr. 
McDowell  resigned  his  office  as  Stated  Clerk ;  where- 
upon the  following  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted. 

"  That,  although  the  reason  assigned  by  Dr.  McDowell  for 
his  resignation  is  quite  sufficient,  yet,  as  he  has  long  and 
faithfully  performed  the  duties  of  his  office,  and  is  well 
acquainted  with  all  the  routine  of  business  belonging  to  said 
office,  he  be  requested  to  withdraw  his  resignation;  provided 
be  can  do  so  consistently  with  the  paramount  duties  of  a 
Pastor." 

The  Doctor,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Moderator^ 
(the  Eev.  Dr.  Engles,)  gratefully  recognized  the  esti- 
mate which  the  Assembly  had  placed  upon  his  ser- 
vices ;  but,  in  consideration  of  the  great  labour  and 
responsibility  pertaining  to  the  office,  and  especially  of 
the  necessity  it  imposed  upon  him  of  attending  as  a 
witness  before  Courts,  and  at  all  seasons  of  the  year, 
and,  more  than  all,  in  view  of  its  manifest  interference 
with  his  duties  as  the  minister  of  a  large  city  congre- 
gation, he  felt  himself  constrained  to  decline  a  longer 
continuance  in  the  office. 

In  the  summer  of  1843,  after  the  office  of  Secretary 
of  the  American  Colonization  Society  had  been  vacated 
by  the  death  of  Dr.  Proudfit,  Dr.  McDowell  was  con- 
sulted as  to  the  probability  of  his  accepting  an 
appointment  to  that  place ;  but  he  did  not  favour  the 

appointment,  and  therefore  it  was  not  made. 
*11 


126 

In  1842,  owing  to  some  pecuniary  embarrassment  of 
the  congregation,  he  generously  relinquished  five  hun- 
dred dollars  per  annum,  which  had,  some  time  before, 
been  added  to  his  salary ;  for  which  he  received  a 
warm  expression  of  thanks  from  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees. In  1843,  and  again  in  1844,  similar  acknowl- 
edgments were  tendered  to  him  for  important  services 
he  had  rendered  for  extinguishing  the  floating  debt  of 
the  church  and  increasing  its  annual  revenue. 

In  the  summer  of  1844,  Dr.  McDowell,  accompanied 
by  his  wife  and  one  daughter,  made  a  journey  as  far 
Westward  as  Lowville,  Lewis  County,  N.  Y.,  the  native 
place  of  his  son-in-law,  the  Rev.  Willard  M.  Rice.  On 
their  way  they  passed  a  few  days  very  pleasantly  at 
Saratoga  Springs ;  though  they  were  kept  in  a  state  of 
no  small  anxiety,  during  nearly  the  whole  period  of 
their  absence,  by  the  reports  that  were  constantly 
reaching  them,  of  the  terrible  riots  which  were  taking 
place  in  the  city  of  their  residence.  They  found  all 
quiet  on  their  return. 

Shortly  after  Dr.  McDowell's  return  from  this  jour- 
ney, he  became  deeply  concerned  on  discovering  that 
the  pecuniary  indebtedness  of  his  congregation  was  much 
greater  than  he  had  supposed,  and  that  the  Trustees 
and  leading  men  of  the  church  were  in  a  state  of  seri- 


127 

ous  perplexity  in  respect  to  it.  This  state  of  things 
occasioned  no  small  disquietude  and  agitation  for  more 
than  a  year;  until,  at  length,  he  was  brought  to  believe 
that  it  was  his  duty  to  resign  his  pastoral  charge. 
Accordingly,  by  his  own  request,  the  Presbytery  dis- 
solved the  pastoral  relation  on  the  20th  of  November, 
1845.  The  congregation,  at  their  meeting  for  appoint- 
ing Commissioners  to  meet  the  Presbytery,  to  show 
cause,  if  they  had  any,  why  the  resignation  of  Dr. 
McDowell  should  not  be  accepted,  rendered  the  follow- 
ing honourable  testimony  to  his  character  and  services. 

"  Resolved,  unanimously,  that,  in  concurring  with  the 
wishes  of  Dr.  McDowell,  this  congregation  cherish  the  most 
entire  and  unabated  confidence  in  his  piety,  zeal  and  pastoral 
fidelity,  and  the  most  sincere  personal  regard  and  affection 
for  him;  and  that  they  desire  to  express  their  unfeigned 
gratitude  to  him  for  his  multiplied  labours,  and  to  God,  for 
the  measure  of  success  that  has  attended  his  ministry,  for 
more  than  twelve  years,  in  their  midst.  And  they  further 
assure  him  of  the  united  and  hearty  wishes  of  the  elders, 
trustees,  communicants,  and  congregation,  for  the  welfare 
and  comfort  of  himself  and  family  through  life." 


128 


CHAPTER  IV. 

From  his  Leaving  the  Central  Church  till  his 
Death. 

The  disruption  of  tlie  tie  that  bound  Dr.  McDowell 
to  the  Central  Church  seemed  to  mark  a  dark  epoch  in 
the  history  of  his  life.  He  had  indeed  a  high  reputa- 
tion throughout  the  whole  Church  ;  a  reputation  which 
he  had  earned  by  a  long  course  not  only  of  pastoral 
fidelity  but  of  public  usefulness ;  but  he  had  now 
reached  his  sixty-sixth  year;  and,  though  his  vigour 
of  body  and  mind  was  still  unabated,  it  was  obvious 
that  not  many  years  could  elapse  before  his  ability  to 
labour  must  begin  to  wane.  He  was  himself  deeply 
sensible  of  all  this ;  and  he  saw  no  prospect  of  con- 
tinued ministerial  usefulness  open  before  him  ;  while 
yet  his  heart  was  just  as  much  in  his  work  as  ever ; 
and  withal  he  was  in  a  measure  dependent  on  his  pro- 
fessional labours  for  the  means  of  supporting  his 
family.  He  doubted  not,  however,  that  the  same 
gracious  God  who  had  ordered  his  lot  in  such  signal 
mercy  hitherto,  would  care  for  him  still ;  and  he  only 
waited  to  see  the  path  of  duty  made  clear  before  he 
should  resume  his  labours.     The  day  after  his  relation 


129 

to  his  cliurcli  ceased,  he  went  to  Elizabethtown,  where 
he  was  met  by  his  old  friends  with  a  cordial  greeting 
and  the  warmest  sympathy.  A  vigorous  effort  was 
made  about  this  time  to  secure  his  settlement  at  Met- 
uchin ;  and  proposals  were  also  made  to  him  to  lead  in 
the  establishment  of  an  Old  School  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Newark;  but  he  could  not  feel  that  the 
finger  of  Providence  pointed  in  either  of  these  direc- 
tions. On  his  return  to  Philadelphia,  he  was  pre- 
sented with  a  petition,  signed  by  a  hundred  and  ten  of 
the  members  of  the  congregation  from  which  he  had 
just  been  separated,  that  he  would  continue  his  labours 
with  the  view  of  establishing  a  new  church.  He  at  once 
entered  into  their  views,  and  commenced  preaching  at 
the  old  Fourth  Street  (Whitefield)  Academy,  where 
he  continued  for  a  year  — just  as  he  had  done  twelve 
years  before,  while  the  Central  Church  was  being 
built.  His  first  sermon  was  preached  on  the  14th  of 
December,  from  the  text, —  "  My  presence  shall  go 
with  thee,  and  I  will  give  thee  rest."  Two  men,  who 
had  always  sat  unconcerned  under  his  ministry  in  the 
Central  Church,  were  first  brought  to  serious  reflection 
under  this  sermon.  When  the  movement  was  first 
made  towards  a  new  church-organization,  it  met  with 
little    favour   outside    of  the    circle  in  which    it  was 


130 

started ;  but  the-  perseverii^g  zeal  of  those  more  im- 
mediately concerned,  in  connection  with  the  hearty 
co-operation  of  Dr.  McDowell,  overcame  all  obstacles, 
and  very  quickly  secured  the  object.  On  the  31st  of 
December,  those  who  had  enlisted  in  the  new  enter- 
prise, met  and  unanimously  resolved  to  apply  to  the 
Presbytery  for  organization  as  a  Church ;  and  for  this 
purpose  drew  up  a  petition,  addressed  to  the  Presby- 
tery, and  appointed  a  committee  to  present  it.  This 
petition  was  signed  by  one  hundred  and  thirty-six 
persons  who  had  been  under  his  pastoral  charge  in  the 
Central  Church ;  ninety  of  whom  were  communicants. 
It  was  presented  to  the  Presbytery  the  next  week, 
(January  6,  1846);  and,  after  much  deliberation,  the 
Presbytery  unanimously  resolved  to  grant  the  petition, 
and  appointed  a  committee  consisting  of  Doctors 
Cuyler  and  McDowell,  and  Mr.  Andrew  Symington, 
Elder,  to  organize  the  church. 

On  the  18th  of  January,  the  church  was  duly  or- 
ganized, with  eighty-seven  communicants ;  two  of 
whom  were  ordained  Ruling  Elders.  The  Church  took 
the  name  of  the  Spring  Garden  Presbyterian  Church. 
Three  days  after,  the  congregation  met  and  voted  a 
unanimous  call  to  Dr.  McDowell  to  become  their 
Pastor.     He  accepted  the  call,  and  was  installed  on 


131 

the  3d  of  February.  The  Sermon  on  the  occa- 
sion was  preached  by  Dr.  Thomas  L.  Janewayj  Dr. 
Cuyler  presided,  and  gave  the  Charge  to  the  Pastor ; 
and  the  Rev.  Archibald  Tudehope  gave  the  Charge  to 
the  People.  The  Installation  took  place,  as  his  previ- 
ous Installation  had  done,  in  the  Whitefield  Chapel. 

The  next  thing  to  be  done  was  to  provide  the  means 
for  securing  a  lot  and  erecting  a  house  of  worship. 
The  members  of  the  new  congregation,  though  gene- 
rally far  from  being  in  affluent  circumstances,  were 
ready  to  contribute  in  aid  of  the  enterprise  to  the 
utmost  limit  of  their  ability;  but  they  were  obliged 
to  look  abroad  mainly  for  the  means  of  accomplishing 
their  object.  Dr.  McDowell's  extensive  acquaintance 
and  great  popularity  in  Philadelphia  rendered  it  an 
easy  matter  for  him  to  obtain  liberal  contributions 
not  only  from  his  own  but  other  denominations  ;  but, 
notwithstanding  these  applications  were  generally 
highly  successful,  there  was  a  large  deficiency  to  be 
made  up  from  other  sources  ;  and  this  was  done  chiefly 
by  his  friends  in  Elizabethtown,  Newark  and  New 
York.  The  lot  having  been  purchased,  and  all  the 
previous  arrangements  made,  the  corner-stone  of  the 
new  edifice  was  laid,  with  appropriate  services,  on  the 
6th  .of  June.     On  the  16th  of  May,  1847,  a  little  less 


132 

than  a  year  from  the  commencement  of  the  work,  the 
edifice  was  solemnly  dedicated  to  the  worship  and 
service  of  God.  On  that  day,  Dr.  McDowell  preached 
in  the  morning  ;  Dr.  Willis  Lord,  then  of  Philadelphia, 
in  the  afternoon ;  and  Dr.  Van  Arsdale,  of  the  Re- 
formed Dutch  Church,  in  the  evening. 

From  this  time  the  congregation  enjoyed  an  uninter- 
rupted course  of  prosperity  for  about  four  years  — 
it  was  receiving  frequent  additions,  and  thus  grow- 
ing in  influence  and  numerical  strength,  while  the 
blessing  of  God  evidently  attended,  in  a  high  de- 
gree, the  ministration  of  the  word.  But,  at  the  end 
of  that  period,  it  was  overtaken  by  a  fearful  calamity, 
which  seemed  to  bring  a  deep  shade  over  its  prospects. 
On  the  17th  of  March,  1851,  a  snow  storm  commenced, 
which  continued,  with  great  severity,  through  the  fol- 
lowing night.  The  snow,  being  wet  and  heavy,  had 
accumulated  so  largely  upon  the  roof  of  the  church 
that  the  building  fell  under  the  weight.  The  side 
walls  fell  out  each  way  nearly  to  the  floor  ;  the  roof 
came  down  crushing  the  pews  ;  and  the  whole  was  a 
frightful  scene  of  desolation.  It  was  a  great  mercy, 
however,  that  no  one  was  injured,  either  in  the  house 
or  out  of  it.  Dr.  McDowell,  though  deeply  affected  by 
this  dispensation  of  Providence,  never  yielded  to  des- 


133 

pondency  for  a  moment  —  his  unwavering  faith,  his 
indomitable  strength  of  purpose,  triumphed  ;  and,  like 
Nehemiah  of  old,  he  said,  —  "  Let  us  arise  and  build." 
The  disaster  awakened  a  very  general  sympathy 
throughout  the  city;  and  congregations  of  different 
denominations  volunteered  the  loan  of  their  church 
edifices,  for  the  afternoon,  so  long  as  the  necessity 
might  exist.  The  following  very  gratifying  note  was 
addressed  to  Dr.  McDowell,  at  this  time,  by  the  Rector 
and  "Wardens  of  the  Church  of  the  Nativity. 

Rev.  Sir.     Our  Respected  Neighbour  : 

Learning-,  with  deep  regret,  the  downfall,  last  night,  of  the 
edifice  in  which  you  are  wont  to  worship  God,  the  Rector 
and  Wardens  of  the  Nativity  Church  tender  to  you  the  exclu- 
sive use  of  that  place  of  worship  on  the  afternoons  of  Sunday, 
and  of  any  week-day  you  may  select,  with  the  assurance  of 
a  cordial  welcome  to  any  of  the  people  of  your  charge  who 
may,  at  other  times,  see  fit  to  unite  with  us  in  adoring-  our 
Father  in  Heaven,  through  the  same  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord. 

Rev.  JoHX  McDowell,  D.  D. 
Tuesday,  9  a.  m.,  March  18,  1851. 

There  were  also  very  liberal  contributions  volunta- 
rily made,  from  churches  of  different  denominations  in 
Philadelphia,  towards  repairing  the  desolation  occasion- 
ed by  this  distressing  casualty.  Not  a  few  private  indi- 
viduals in  other  places  also  volunteered  their  aid,  among 
whom  was  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander,  whose  contribution 

was  accompanied  by  the  following  characteristic  letter. 
12 


134 

Princeton,  March  22,  1851. 
Kevt.  and  Dear  Sir: 

I  could  send  you  abundant  expressions  of  sympathy,  but 
these  would  not  aid  in  repairing  the  loss  you  have  sustained 
— I  therefore  send  you  ten  dollars,  which  was  the  sum  1  con- 
tributed towards  the  erection  of  the  building. 

Almost  every  one,  on  hearing  of  the  disaster,  exclaims, 
"  What  a  mercy  it  fell  when  no  one  was  within  1" 

I  think  I  heard  you  say  that  one  of  the  happiest  periods 
of  your  life  was  the  time  spent  in  soliciting  funds  for  this 
church.  The  same  pleasure  I  trust  you  will  experience  again ; 
for  I  doubt  not  but  you  will  find  many  disposed  to  repeat 
their  former  contributions.  I  am  very  truly  yours, 

A.  ALEXANDER. 

Dr.  McDowell  was  the  master-spirit  in  the  rebuild- 
ing, as  he  had  been  in  the  original  building,  of  the 
church ;  and  he  found  it  even  more  easy  now  than  be- 
fore to  procure  the  requisite  pecuniary  aid  for  the 
accomplishment  of  his  object.  The  rebuilding  com- 
menced almost  immediately,  under  the  most  favourable 
auspices,  and  at  an  expense  of  about  ten  thousand  dol- 
lars, was  ready  to  be  re-occupied  in  about  six  months  and 
a  half.  During  the  progress  of  the  work,  the  congrega- 
tion worshipped  in  the  Spring  Garden  Commissioners^ 
Hall.  On  the  5th  of  October,  1851,  it  was  re-opened 
and  re-dedicated  to  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  built. 
On  that  day,  the  Pastor  preached  in  the  morning,  Dr. 
Murray,  of  Elizabethtown,  in  the  afternoon,  and  Dr. 
Boardman  in  the  evening. 


135 

One  of  Dr.  McDowell's  most  intimate  and  beloved 
friends  was  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander.  In  September, 
1851,  this  venerable  man  was  attacked  with  a  serious 
illness,  from  which  he  soon  became  satisfied  that  he 
should  never  recover.  In  anticipation  of  his  death  he, 
with  characteristic  thoughtfulness,  indicated  his  wishes 
in  respect  to  the  arrangements  for  his  Funeral,  and 
among  other  things,  designated  Dr.  McDowell  to  preach 
the  Funeral  Sermon.  In  connection  with  this,  he  left 
a  special  request  that  there  should  be  no  eulogy  pro- 
nounced upon  him,  but  that  the  sermon  should  be  a 
simple  exhibition  of  Divine  truth,  suited  to  comfort 
mourners,  and  edify  and  profit  all.  Dr.  McDowell  ad- 
hered sacredly  to  the  expressed  wish  of  his  friend, 
and  preached  a  sermon  which  could  not  have  wounded 
his  delicacy  if  he  had  heard  every  word  of  it. 

In  April,  1852,  the  First  Church  in  Elizabethtown, 
where  Dr.  McDowell  had,  for  so  many  years,  exercised 
his  ministry,  having  been  thoroughly  renovated,  was 
re-entered  with  appropriate  services.  Dr.  Murray  took 
care  to  secure  the  aid  of  his  predecessor  for  one  part 
of  the  day,  and  his  presence  gave  great  additional  in- 
terest to  the  occasion. 

The  following  letter  was*  addressed  to  his  intimate 
friend,  William  M.  Halstead,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  at  a 


136 

time  when  the  latter  was  suflfering  from  a  severe  ill- 
ness. 

Philadelphia,  January  18,  1854. 
My  Dear  Friend: 

Through  the  medium  of  the  New  York  Observer,  I  have 
heard  of  your  illness,  and  I  write  to  expi'ess  my  sincere  sym- 
pathy for  you  in  your  affliction,  and  for  your  family  who  are 
afflicted  with  you.  My  prayer  is  that  your  life  may  he  spared, 
and  that  you  may  be  restored  to  health,  and  still  live  to  bless 
your  family  and  be  useful  in  the  Church  and  to  the  world. 
Your  life  has  been  one  of  great  usefulness,  for  which  many 
have  been  thankful  God  forbid  that  I  should  mention  this 
by  way  of  flattery.  You  would,  I  have  no  doubt,  be  the  first 
to  disapprove  of  any  thing  that  would  lead  to  self-glorying. 
But  I  mention  it  to  the  praise  and  glory  of  Divine  grace, 
which  has  been  manifested  in  you.  For  who  maketh  us  to 
differ,  and  what  have  we  that  we  have  not  received  ?  God 
early  called  you  into  His  Kingdom,  and  gave  you  a  heart 
conformed  to  his  will.  He  has  prospered  you  in  your  worldly 
business,  bestowing  upon  you  abundance  of  this  world's 
goods,  and  has  given  you  a  heart  to  use  it  for  His  glory,  for 
the  advancement  of  the  Kingdom  of  the  precious  Redeemer, 
and  for  the  good  of  your  fellow-men;  and  to  Himl  have  no 
doubt  you  ascribe  all  the  glory.  My  prater  is — and  I  am 
confident  it  is  the  prayer  of  many — that  the  life  which  God 
has  seen  fit  to  make  thus  useful,  may  still  be  prolonged  to 
his  glory.  We  would  say  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  has  need 
of  you,  but  if  our  Heavenly  Father  has  a  higher  sphere  for 
you  to  glorify  Him  in,  we  ought  to  say  "  Let  His  will  be 
done."  He  can,  and  we  believe  He  will,  in  such  a  case, 
raise  up  others  to  take  your  place  in  the  Church  militant. 
Though  the  servants  of  the  Lord  die,  His  Church  will  live. 

My  dear  friend,  it  is  a  blessed  truth,  in  all  our  circum- 
stances, that  the  Lord  reigneth.  If  there  is  any  passage  in 
the  precious  Bible,  which   has  comforted  me  in  seasons  of 


137 

darkness  and  trial,  it  is  this  (Ps.  XCVII,  1),  "The  Lord 
reigneth,  let  the  earth  rejoice."  He  reigns  in  righteousness, 
in  wisdom,  and  in  covenant  faithfulness  to  his  people.  And 
why  should  we  not  rejoice  that  we  are  in  the  hands  of  such 
a  God,  and  that  He  arranges  every  thing  in  respect  to  us  ? 
And  it  is  a  comforting  truth  that  afflictions  are  no  evidence 
of  his  displeasure.  On  the  contrary,  we  read  in  His  word 
(Heb.  XII,  6),  "Whom  the  Lord  loveth  he  chasteneth,  and 
scourgeth  every  son  whom  He  receiveth."  Oh  how  precious 
is  the  word  of  God  in  the  time  of  trouble  1  I  need  not  say 
again,  Let  the  precious  truths  of  God's  word  now  comfort 
you,  and  be  your  song  in  this  your  night  of  adversity.  I 
pray  that  the  Lord  may  be  with  your  dear  wife  also  in  this 
time  of  her  affliction,  and  support  and  comfort  her,  prepare 
her  for  all  his  will,  and  sanctify  to  her  all  the  dealings  of 
his  hand.  Since  I  saw  an  account  of  your  illness,  I  have 
beard  nothing  concerning  you,  though  we  have  made  diligent 
and  earnest  inquiry.  If  I  could,  it  would  be  a  great  gratifica- 
tion to  me  to  visit  you  while  you  are  under  the  rod.  But  this 
mournful  pleasure  seems  to  be  denied  to  me.  God  has  been 
very  merciful  to  me — I  am  now  an  old  man,  and  have  entered 
ray  fiftieth  year  as  a  Pastor  in  health,  and  am  still  enabled  to 
perform  as  much  ministerial  labour  as  perhaps  I  ever  did. 
But  I  ought  to  feel  that  the  time  must  be  near  when  I  must 
give  an  account  of  my  stewardship.  If,  my  dear  friend,  we 
meet  not  in  this  world,  may  we  meet  in  Heaven. 

Affectionately  yours, 

JOHN  McDowell. 

The  following  letter  addressed  to  Dr.  McDowell,  by 
the  Hon.  Joseph  Allison,  LL.  D.,  on  occasion  of  asking 
for  his  certificate  of  dismission  to  another  church,  con- 
tains a  high  and  cordial  testimony  to  the  excellent  con- 
dition of  the  Doctor's  Church,  and  to  his  admirable 
qualities  as  a  Pastor.  *12 


138 

Philadelphia,  December  20,  1854. 
My  Dear  Doctor: 

The  Communion  season  of  the  Haniiltonville  Presbyterian 
Church  is  again  approaching,  at  which  time  we  think  it  will 
be  proper  to  hand  in  our  certificates  of  church-membership. 
It  is  already  seven  months  since  our  removal  from  Spring 
Garden,  during  which  period  we  have  been  attending  the 
Church  of  which  the  Rev.  Mr.  Butler  is  Pastor.  AVill  you 
be  good  enough  to  send  me  the  certificate  of  dismissal  for 
Mrs.  Allison  and  myself. 

I  would  have  taken  our  dismissal  to  the  Hamiltonville 
Church  before,  but  for  a  reluctance  to  sever  a  church  connec- 
tion, which,  for  six  years,  has  continued,  without  interrup- 
tion, to  be  a  source  of  rich  enjoyment  to  us.  If  any  future 
church  relations  shall  be  as  pleasant  as  these  have  been,  I 
shall  have  reason  to  congratulate  myself,  though  perhaps  this 
is  scarcely  to  be  expected ;  for  I  doubt  whether  there  are 
many  churches  pervaded  by  so  general  a  feeling  of  kindness, 
whose  members  manifest  so  much  of  the  spirit  of  their  Mas- 
ter in  their  regard  for  each  other,  and  who  liave  been  pre- 
served, to  so  great  an  extent,  from  strife  and  contention, 
which  so  often  retard  the  prosperity  of  the  Church,  and 
destroy  the  pleasure  of  Christian  intercourse.  It  is  my 
earnest  desire  that  the  good  feeling  so  long  prevalent  in  the 
Spring  Garden  Church  may  long  continue,  as  one  of  its  pre- 
eminent claims  to  the  respect  of  the  community  in  the  midst 
of  which  it  is  planted;  and  because  I  know  that  to  you  it 
must  be  a  great  comfort  that  this  child  of  your  old  age  has, 
in  this  respect,  been  so  true  to  itself;  and,  in  the  preservation 
of  its  integrity  as  a  Church  of  Christ,  casting  out  discord  as 
an  unclean  spirit,  it  gives  the  best  assurance  of  its  future 
prosperity  and  success. 

But  this  is  not  the  only  cause  for  hesitation  in  leaving  for 
a  new  Christian  home  —  to  you  personally  1  have  become 
much  attached,  and  if  Providence  had  so  ordered,  it  would 
have  been  a  source  of  no  little  pleasure  to  have  remained 


139 

pennanently  under  your  charge  as  my  spiritual  instructor 
and  guide.  But  wherever  I  am,  I  shall  ever  cherish  towards 
you  the  liveliest  feelings  of  confidence  and  regard;  and  per- 
mit me  to  hope  that  your  days  of  usefulness  on  earth  may  be 
prolonged,  as  one  honoured  of  God  in  the  cause  of  the  Mas- 
ter you  have  so  long  and  faithfully  served,  and  that  we  may 
at  last  meet,  when  the  trials  of  life  shall  have  ended,  where 
sin  and  sorrow  shall  have  no  place,  and  where  the  enjoyment 
of  God  sliall  constitute  the  happiness  of  those  whose  sins 
have  been  washed  away  in  the  atoning  blood  of  Christ  our 
Lord.  I  am,  Dear  Sir,  affectionately  yours, 

JOSEPH  ALLISON. 

On  the  31st  of  December,  1854,  Dr.  McDowell  de- 
livered, in  the  Spring  Garden  Church,  a  Sermon  on  oc- 
casion of  his  having  completed  fifty  years  in  the  min- 
istry. He  occupied  both  the  morning  and  the  after- 
noon in  its  delivery,  and  had  a  very  large  and  deeply 
interested  congregation  in  attendance.  At  a  stated 
meeting  of  the  Presbytery  to  which  he  belonged, 
which  occurred  on  the  Tuesday  following,  they  re- 
quested him  to  repeat  it  in  their  hearing ;  which  he 
accordingly  did,  though  in  a  somewhat  abridged  form, 
the  next  evening,  in  the  Church  on  Penn  Square.  On 
the  14th  of  January,  by  request  of  the  Pastor  and 
Session  of  the  First  Church  in  Elizabethtown,  he  re- 
peated it  there  also,  occupying,  as  in  his  own  pulpit, 
both  parts  of  the  day  in  the  delivery.  The  Sermon 
contained  an   outline   of  the  history  of  his    life,  and 


140 

especially  of  his  ministry,  and  probably  none  listened 
to  it  with  more  intense  interest  than  the  elder  portion 
of  his  congregation  at  Elizabethtown.  The  Sermon 
was  published,  and  must  possess  an  enduring  value, 
as  forming  an  interesting  part  of  the  history  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church. 

The  following  letter,  addressed  by  Dr.  McDowell  to 
Miss  Bowlby,  a  young  lady  who  had  been  a  member  of 
his  Church  in  Philadelphia,  but  had  subsequently 
removed  to  Brooklyn,  is  specially  interesting  as  having 
been  written  in  the  midst  of  the  great  revival  of 
185Y--58. 

Philadelphia,  March  2*7,  1858. 
My  Dear   Emily: 

Your  kind  letter  has  been  received,  and  I  tliank  you  for  it. 
I  wrote  to  you  not  long  since,  and  I  hope  you  received  the 
letter,  though  you  make  no  mention  of  it.  I  find  you  are 
about  removing  from  Brooklyn.  Truly  this  is  a  changing 
world.  I  hope  our  pilgrimage  here  may  terminate  in  the 
rest  that  remaineth  for  the  people  of  God.  When  you  get 
settled,  I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  from  you,  and  to  know  where  to 
address  you.  I  hope  it  may  be  where  you  will  have  ready 
access  to  the  public  means  of  grace,  which  I  know  you  highly 
prize.  I  should  have  rejoiced  if  it  had  pleased  Providence 
that  you  and  your  family  should  have  been  located  again  in 
Philadelphia. 

It  is  a  very  peculiar  and  wonderful  day  in  regard  to  reli- 
gion. The  influence  is  very  extensive,  pervading  a  great 
part  of  our  country,  especially  our  large  cities.  There  is  in 
this  city  a  very  general  attention,    at  least  externally,  to 


141 

religious  things.  Tlie  order  of  the  day  is  attendance  on  pub- 
lic worship.  A  great  many  houses  of  worship  and  other 
places  are  open  daily  for  prayer  and  exhortation,  and  some 
of  them  for  regular  preaching;  and  they  are  attended  by 
crowds.  The  most  noted  of  these  places  is  Jaynes'  Hall,  in 
Chestnut  Street,  below  Seventh,  —  one  of  the  largest  rooms 
in  our  city.  There  has  been,  for  some  time  there,  a  prayer- 
meeting  every  day,  at  twelve  o'clock,  and  preaching  at  four 
o'clock  by  different  clergymen.  About  three  thousand  people 
attend  these  meetings  daily.  Many  other  places  are  open 
every  day,  and  are  crowded.  How  many  real  conversions 
there  are  I  cannot  tell ;  but  I  have  no  doubt  the  Kingdom  of 
Christ  will  be  extended  by  these  movements.  As  far  as  I 
know,  silence  and  order  prevail  in  a  remarkable  degree.  In 
regard  to  my  own  congregation,  we  have  a  good  attendance 
at  our  regular  meetings  and  solemn  attention;  and  I  know 
of  a  few  seriously  inquiring,  but  nothing  very  special.  We 
have  recently  had  our  Communion,  and  received  four  on 
examination,  —  three  of  them  young  men.  I  informed  you, 
I  think,  in  my  last  letter,  that,  as  a  congregation,  we  ai'C  out 
of  debt.  The  number  of  our  communicants  is  now  nearly 
three  hundred.     Truly  the  Lord  has  been  good  to  us. 

I  should  delight  to  see  you  all,  but  my  day  for  going  abroad 
much  is  past.  Your  affectionate  friend, 

JOHN  McDowell. 

In  April,  1859,  Dr.  McDowell  suflfered  a  severe 
domestic  affliction  in  the  death  of  a  much  loved 
daughter,  (Susan,)  who  had  suffered  for  many  years 
from  Epilepsy.  How  constantly  she  was  in  her  father's 
thoughts  through  this  long  period  of  suffering  is  mani- 
fest from  the  fact  that,  in  almost  all  the  letters  that  he 
addressed    to  his  intimate  friends    during   this   time, 


142 

there  is  some  distinct  reference  to  her  condition.  The 
following  letter  to  Miss  Bowlby,  containing  an  account 
of  his  daughter's  death,  which  occurred  on  the  8th  of 
April,  1859,  shows  how  deeply  his  heart  was  smitten 
by  the  bereavement. 

Philadelphia,  June  6,  1859. 
My  Dear  Emily: 

Your  kind  letter  was  received  on  Saturday,  and  I  hasten 
to  answer  it.  God,  in  his  Providence,  has  made  a  great 
change  in  my  family.  Our  loved  and  long  and  greatly 
afflicted  daughter  has  finished  her  life  of  suffering,  and  has 
gone,  we  have  no  doubt,  to  the  rest  which  remaineth  for  the 
people  of  God. 

She  was  a  great  and  constant  sufferer.  Her  disease 
increased  as  she  advanced  in  years,  and  required  increasing 
care  and  watchfulness  night  and  day.  Eeligion  was  her  daily 
business  and  delight,  and  she  evidently  grew  in  grace  till  the 
close  of  life.  She  has  been,  for  several  months,  gradually 
becoming  weaker,  until  nature,  exhausted,  yielded  to  the 
stroke  of  death.  She  died  easily.  When  she  was  able  she 
read  much,  and  her  reading  was  of  the  decidedly  religious 
and  devotional  kind.  We  have  found,  since  her  death,  in  the 
books  she  read,  a  great  many  passages  suited  to  her  situa- 
tion, marked  with  a  pencil.  And  we  have  found  her  daily 
journal,  breathing  a  remarkable  spirit  of  piety.  While  we 
mourn  her  departure,  we  have  good  reason  to  thank  God  for 
many  peculiar  mercies.  It  was  a  great  mercy  that  she  did 
not  lose  her  reason,  which  we  had  long  feared  would  be  the 
case.  It  was  a  great  mercy  that  she  did  not  die  in  dreadful 
convulsions,  of  which  there  seemed  to  us  a  great  probability. 
She  departed  like  one  going  to  sleep.  It  was  also  a  very 
great  mercy  that  her  parents  were  spared  to  take  care  of  her 
while  she  lived.     And,   above  all,  it  was    an  unspeakable 


143 

mercy  that  she  so  lived  and  died  as  to  give  assurance  that 
our  loss  is  her  unspeakable  g-ain.  She  slept  much  in  the  last 
few  days  of  her  illness,  and  said  but  little.  In  the  evening 
commencing  the  night  on  which  she  died,  she  awoke  from 
sleep,  and,  without  looking  at  any  of  us,  raised  her  eyes 
upwards,  and  uttered  this  remarkably  prayer. 

"Heavenly  Father,  let  me  be  with  Thee  all  the  day  long. 
Dear  Saviour,  let  me  be  with  Thee  all  the  day  long.  Take  me 
to  Heaven;  let  me  be  there  this  night — Amen." 

She  then  went  to  sleep  again;  and,  after  this,  uttered  no 
more  intelligible  sentences.  She  died  at  three  o'clock,  and 
was  buried,  on  the  following  Monday  afternoon,  in  the  Wood- 
lands Cemetery.  Her  corpse  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  I 
ever  beheld.  To  her  emphatically  applied  the  lines  of  White- 
field— 

"  Ah  lovely  appearance  of  death, 
•  No  sight  upon  earth  is  so  fair; 

Not  all  the  gay  pageants  that  breathe , 
Can  with  a  dead  body  compare." 

Her  Funeral  was  very  numerously  attended,  and  great  re- 
spect for  her  memory  was  manifested.  Dr.  Boardman  deliv- 
ered an  appropriate  and  excellent  Address  on  the  occasion. 
You  will  pardon  me  for  going  so  much  into  detail  in  this 
account  of  my  dear  daughter's  death — I  have  been  prompted 
to  it  by  my  knowledge  of  the  deep  interest  you  felt  in  her, 
and  of  your  sympathy  in  our  affliction. 

Affectionately  yours, 

JOHN  McDowell. 

Dr.  McDowell  continued  in  the  regular  discharge  of 
most  of  his  duties  as  a  minister,  with  but  little  per- 
ceptible waning  of  any  of  his  faculties,  until  the 
spring  of  1858,  when,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Session  of 
hia  church,  he  made  to  them,  in  substance,  the  follow- 


144 

ing  verbal  communication: — "You  are  my  constitu- 
tional advisers.  There  is  a  subject  on  which  I  wish  to 
confer  with  you  confidentially.  I  am  an  old  man.  It 
is  natural  that  I  should  partake  of  the  infirmities  inci- 
dent to  old  age.  Many  of  the  duties  of  a  Pastor, 
which  have  long  been  my  delight,  I  am  compelled  to 
omit.  Family  visitations  and  other  duties  I  cannot 
attend  to  as  formerly.  I  wish  to  ask  if  you  think  I 
ought  to  resign  my  charge."  To  this  inquiry  the 
members  of  the  Session  unanimously  replied  that  it 
was  neither  their  wish,  nor,  so  far  as  they  knew,  the 
wish  of  any  part  of  the  congregation  that  he  should 
resign ;  and  that  their  belief  was  that  it  would  be  an 
unwelcome  subject  to  propose  to  them.  On  the  whole, 
the  Session  advised  decidedly  to  let  things  remain  as 
they  were  until  there  should  be  some  more  marked 
necessity  for  a  change.  In  the  spring  of  1859,  the 
Doctor  again  brought  the  subject  to  the  notice  of  his 
Session,  expressing  his  deep  conviction  that  the  time 
had  come  when  decisive  action  upon  it  could  not  be 
safely  or  properly  delayed,  as  he  felt  himself  utterly 
unable  to  preach  twice  on  the  Sabbath,  or  to  discharge 
all  the  other  duties  devolving  upon  him.  To  this 
appeal  the  Session  could  not  but  listen;  and,  accord- 
ingly, they  requested  him  to  avail  himself  of  such  local 


145 

aid  as  he  might  be  able  to  command  until  the  way- 
should  be  clear  for  bringing  the  whole  subject  before 
the  congregation.  On  the  2d  of  November  follow- 
ing, the  congregation  met  and  unanimously  adopted 
the  following  Resolutions  : — 

"1.  That  this  congrogation  acknowledges  with  gratitude 
the  goodness  of  God  manifested  to  us  in  sparing^the  life  and 
continuing  the  usefulness  of  our  beloved  Pastor,  the  Rev. 
John  McDowell,  D.  D.,  through  a  period  of  nearly  eighty 
years,  and  in  owning  him  as  a  chosen  servant  of  the  Lord  by 
giving  to  him  many  souls  as  seals  of  his  ministry;  and  that 
we  now  desire  to  express  our  continued  confidence  in  his 
piety,  and  zeal,  and  devotedness  to  the  proper  work  of  the 
ministry,  and  in  the  performance  of  all  the  duties  incident  to 
the  pastoral  office. 

"  2.  That  it  is  our  desire  that  the  wishes  of  our  Pastor  be 
complied  with;  and  that  we  now  authorize  and  request  the 
Session  of  this  church  to  adopt  such  measures  as  shall  ena- 
ble us  to  make  a  wise  and  judicious  choice  of  a  man  to 
'  break  unto-  us  the  bread  of  life,'  in  conjunction  with  our 
aged  Pastor." 

In  pursuance   of  this  second    Resolution,    measures 

were  immediately  taken  to  secure  a  Colleague  Pastor  ; 

which   resulted  in  the  settlement  of  the  Rev.  Morris 

C.  Sutphen,  in  May,  1860;   an  arrangement  in  which 

the   Doctor  expressed   his    most    hearty    concurrence. 

So   long  as  the  coUeagueship  continued,  the  younger 

Pastor  always  manifested   the  most  deferential  regard 

to  the  feelings  and  v>rishes  of  his  venerable  associate 
13 


146 

in  the  ministry,  while  the  elder  was  fully  satisfied  that 
he  could  leave  his  congregation  in  no  better  hands 
than  those  in  which  he  was  actually  leaving  them. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of 
the  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  held  in  April, 
1860,  Dr.  McDowell  tendered  his  resignation  of  the 
ofiSce  of  Secretary  of  the  Board.  Whereupon  the 
Board  adopted  the  following  resolutions  : 

"  1.  That  Dr.  McDowell's  resignation  be  accepted. 

"  2.  That  this  Board,  under  a  deep  sense  of  their  oblig-a- 
tions  for  his  long  continued  and  faithful  services,  as  their 
Secretary,  tender  to  him  their  grateful  acknowledgments, 
and  affectionate  wishes  for  his  continued  health  and  happi- 
ness." 

The  following  letter  was  addressed,  by  Dr.  McDow- 
ell, to  Miss  Mary  Miller,  daughter  of  the  late  Rev.  Dr. 
Miller,  of  Princeton,  on  occasion  of  the  death  of  her 

mother. 

Philadelphia,  February  11,  1861. 
My  Dear  Miss  Miller: 

Since  I  last  saw  you,  your  excellent  mother  has  been  re- 
moved by  death.  This  event,  though  not  unexpected,  her 
children  must  deeply  feel;  and  you  especially  as  the  one 
who  lived  with  her  to  the  last.  With  my  whole  heart  I  sym- 
pathize with  you  and  the  other  children  in  this  bereavement. 
It  would  have  afforded  me  a  mournful  pleasure  to  have  been 
with  you  at  the  funeral;  but  my  advanced  age  and  feeble 
health  render  it  not  prudent  for  me  to  go  so  far  from  home 
at  this  inclement  and  uncertain  season  of  the  year.  You 
are,   my  dear   friend,  in  affliction,  and  it  is  right  that  you 


147 

should  feel  it.  But  you  have  great  reason  to  be  comforted 
and  to  be  thankful.  The  Lord  has  spared  your  mother,  and 
continued  her  with  you  to  a  good  old  age.  Her  departure 
must,  according  to  the  course  of  nature,  have  been  looked 
for.  She  has  spent  a  long  life  of  usefulness,  and  has  been 
brought  into  the  Heavenly  garner,  as  a  shock  of  corn  in  its 
season,  fully  ripe.  She  has  been  a  blessing  to  her  children 
and  to  the  Church  of  God,  and  she  has  now  gone  to  the  rest 
that  remaineth  for  the  people  of  God.  May  the  grace  of  God 
be  sufficient  for  you  in  this  time  of  need.  And  may  his  rich 
blessing  rest  upon  you,  and  your  dear  sister,  and  respected 
brothers;  and  may  you  all  follow  her  as  she  followed  Christ; 
and  may  you  all  at  last  join  her  and  your  venerated  father 
in  the  Paradise  of  God  above. 

Your  affectionate  and  sympathizing  friend, 

JOHN  McDowell. 

Dr.  McDowell,  having  been  informed  that  a  most 
respectable  lady,  a  resident  of  Ohio,  whose  early 
years  were  passed  under  his  ministry,  had  nearly 
reached  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  her  marriage,  which 
was  to  be  celebrated  by  a  Golden  Wedding,  addressed 
to  her  the  following  letter  with  reference  to  that  event. 

Philadelphia,  May  30,  1861. 
My  Dear  Madam: 

I  was  surprized  to  learn  from  the  letter  of  your  son  that 
fifty  years  had  passed  since  I  had  the  pleasure  of  uniting  you 

in  mai'riage  to  your  excellent  husband,  Mr.  H ,  and  that 

you  and  youv  children  expect  to  celebrate  your  Golden  Wed- 
ding, as  it  is  called,  on  the  ITth  of  June.  Truly  time  is  fleet- 
ing and  we  ought  diligently  to  improve  it  as  it  flies. 

I  remember  you  as  a  young  lady,  and  a  lamb  of  my  flock, 
in  the  first  years  of  my  ministry.     The  recollection  of  the 


148 

acquaintance  I  had  with  you  at  that  time  is  still  precious. 
I  knew  you  intimately  when  you  first  began  to  seek  the  Lord, 
and  had  the  happiness  then  frequently  to  converse  with  you, 
and  to  direct  your  anxious  and  inquiring-  mind  to  the  only 
hope,  the  Saviour  of  sinners.  I  rejoiced  with  you  and  in 
you,  when,  as  subsequent  time  has  proved,  you  truly  em- 
braced Him.  I  received  j^ou  to  the  church,  and,  for  some 
time  afterwards,  witnessed  your  humble  walk  with  God  and 
devotion  to  his  service;  and  since,  I  have  heard  of  you  as 
adorning,  through  grace,  the  profession  you  made  in  early 
life. 

I  had  the  pleasure  to  marry  you  to  a  man  whom  I  highly 
respected,  and  with  whom  I  anticipated  you  would  have  a 
useful  and  happy  life.  And,  as  far  as  I  have  heard,  I  have 
not  been  disappointed. 

God,  my  dear  friend,  has  been  peculiarly  gracious  to  you. 
He  called  you  in  early  life  into  his  kingdom.  He  has  kept 
you  in  the  narrow  way;  and  has  enabled  you  to  grow  in 
grace.  He  has  given  you  a  large  family,  all  of  whom,  I 
rejoice  to  learn,  are  hopefully  pious.  He  has  long  preserved 
you  to  be  useful,  and  has  brought  you  to  a  period  which  very 
few  live  to  see, —  the  celebration  of  the  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  your  marriage.  Truly,  you  have  reason  to  say, — "  Bless 
the  Lord,  0  my  soul."  May  the  evening  of  your  days  be 
sei-cne  and  useful;  and,  when  the  time  of  your  departure 
comes,  may  your  sun  set  without  a  cloud.  May  both  you 
and  your  husband  be  brought  into  the  Heavenly  garner,  as 
shocks  of  corn  in  their  season  fully  ripe;  and  may  the  bless- 
ing of  your  covenant  God  rest  upon  your  children,  and  child- 
ren's children,  for  many  generations  to  come! 

A  word  about  myself  and  family  may  not  be  deemed  in- 
trusive on  this  occasion.  I  have  now  been  married  to  the 
wife  of  my  youth  more  than  fifty-six  years.  Through  the 
rich  grace  of  God,  my  labours  have  been  blessed,  especially 
in  Elizabethtown,  greatly  blessed.  I  am  still  a  Pastor.  I 
feel  the  weakness  of  advanced  years,  but  am  still  able  to 


149 

preach,  and  generally  do  preacli,  once  on  the  Sabbath.  My 
people  have  kindly  given  me  a  colleague, —  a  promising 
young  man. 

In  conclusion,  I  would  again  invoke  the  blessing  of  God 
upon  you,  and  your  husband,  and  children.  My  wife  re- 
quests to  be  affectionately  remembered  to  you. 

From  your  early  and  affectionate  friend, 

JOHN  McDowell. 

Dr.  McDowell,  for  some  time  previous  to  his  death, 
suffered  from  a  difficulty  of  articulation.  This  disco- 
vered itself  first  while  he  was  conducting  the  services 
of  the  sanctuary.  He  had  gone  through  the  prepara- 
tory service,  announced  his  text,  and  was  proceeding 
with  his  discourse,  when  his  voice  faltered,  and  he 
was  obliged  to  desist  from  speaking.  This  affection, 
arising  from  a  partial  paralysis  of  the  organs  of  speech, 
rendered  it  at  times  difficult  for  him  to  converse  with 
his  friends,  and  withdreAv  him  in  a  measure  from  their 
society.  For  months  he  did  not  attempt  to  preach. 
But,  during  the  months  of  July,  August  and  Septem- 
ber of  1861,  he  preached  once  almost  every  Sabbath. 
His  last  sermon  was  delivered  on  the  27th  of  Septem- 
ber, from  Gen.  XIX,  7.  His  vision,  voice  and  strength 
were  now  so  seriously  impaired  that  he  was  obliged  to 
desist  from  further  labours.  He,  however,  always 
attended  public  worship  on  Sabbath  morning,  when  the 

weather  would  permit,  and,  notwithstanding  his  bodily 
*13 


150 

infirmities,  he  would,  from  principle,  never  allow  him- 
self to  sit  in  prayer;  regarding  that  posture  incon- 
sistent with  the  reverence  due  to  Jehovah,  in  approach- 
ing the  throne  of  grace.  He  preached  several  ser- 
mons, during  his  ministry,  on  the  subject  of  posture  in 
prayer,  in  which  he  maintained  that  there  was  no  in- 
stance on  record  in  the  word  of  God,  of  sitting  during 
that  exercise,  but  that,  wherever  posture  is  mentioned, 
it  is  either  standing,  kneeling,  or  prostration. 

It  was  a  custom  in  the  Spring  Garden  Church,  on 
the  Friday  afternoon  before  the  Communion,  to  hold 
what  was  termed  a  church  meeting,  or  a  gathering  of 
church  members  and  their  children,  for  exhortation  and 
prayer.  The  last  time  he  was  in  the  house  of  God 
was  on  an  occasion  of  this  kind,  in  December,  1861. 
It  was  with  great  difficulty,  on  account  of  his  extreme 
feebleness,  that  he  was  able  to  walk  to  the  lecture 
room ;  but,  leaning  upon  the  arm  of  his  wife,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  there,  and  delivered  an  address  of  a 
most  pathetic  and  impressive  character,  worthy  to  be, 
as  it  proved  to  be,  his  last.  He  had  made  his  ar- 
rangements to  be  present  at  the  Communion  on  the 
following  Sabbath ;  but  the  exertion  of  going  to  the 
lecture  room  on  Friday  so  overcame  him  that  he  was 
-obliged  to  remain  at  home  on  Sabbath  morning,  and 


151 

consequently  joined  no  more  in  the  commemoration  of 
his  Redeemer's  love,  until  he  was  permitted  to  mingle 
in  the  nobler  celebration  of  the  ransomed  around  the 
throne. 

The  following  graphic  description  Of  the  closing 
period  of  Dr.  McDowell's  life  is  from  the  pen  of  his 
daughter,  Mrs.  Rice,  who,  in  writing  it,  only  made  the 
record  of  her  own  observation  : 

"  My  father  descended  to  the  tomb  very  gradually. 
Until  a  few  weeks  before  his  death,  he  attended  to  his 
accustomed  duties,  providing  the  marketing  and  gro- 
ceries for  family  use.  He  relinquished,  one  by  one, 
these  life  employments,  without  any  murmur  or  com- 
plaint, simply  remarking,  in  his  peculiarly  humble 
manner,  that  he  was  "  good  for  nothing."  My  brother 
and  myself,  with  our  families,  were  acustomed  to  spend 
every  Wednesday  at  his  house,  and  a  truly  delightful 
season  it  was  to  both  the  diildren  and  the  grandchil- 
dren. He  made  every  thing  pleasant  on  these  occa- 
sions and  diffused  sunshine  all  around.  His  grand- 
children he  dearly  loved,  and  particularly  the  youngest 
of  the  flock,  and  was  always  disappointed  when  un- 
pleasant weather  prevented  the  little  ones  from  paying 
their  weekly  visit.  On  the  occasion  of  these 'weekly 
family  gatherings,  he  persisted  in  carving  at  the  din- 


152 

ner  table,  even  after  he  was  unequal  to  the  effort ;  but 
the  ruling  passion,  a  desire  to  minister  to  the  gratifica- 
tion of  others,  and  to  be  useful,  continued  to  the  last. 
A  few  weeks  previous  to  his  death,  however,  he  yielded 
to  the  solicitations  of  his  friends,  and  permitted  others 
to  take  his  place  in  the  performance  of  this  duty.  As 
he  began  to  decline,  gradually  but  surely,  the  children 
and  grandchildren  would,  when  they  met  at  the  cher- 
ished fireside,  recount  the  pleasures  of  these  inter- 
views, and,  with  painful  forebodings,  speak  of  the  void 
that  would  be  made  in  their  circle  and  their  hearts  by 
the  removal  of  the  dear  one  to  whom  they  had  looked 
for  counsel  for  so  many  years. 

"  The  dreaded  period  at  length  arrived.  The  happy 
circle  assembled  for  the  last  time.  On  the  fifty-ninth 
anniversary  of  his  marriage,  we  all  met,  according  to 
our  weekly  custom,  at  the  house  of  our  beloved  and 
venerated  father  and  grandfather.  He  appeared  in  his 
usual  health,  and  indeed  conversed  more  freely  than  he 
had  done  for  some  time  ;  for,  of  late,  the  difficulty  of 
utterance  had  increased,  so  that  it  required  an  effort 
for  him  to  hold  a  continuous  conversation.  On  parting 
with  him,  we  received  the  last  farewell  uttered  in 
health  and  consciousness.  He  retired  to  his  room 
about  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening.     After  a  while,  my 


153 

mother,  thinking  he  might  need  her  services,  went  up 
to  their  chamber,  and  found  him  suffering  intensely 
from  what  seemed  to  be  an  attack  of  bilious  colic. 
She  used  the  ordinary  remedies  without  effect,  and  the 
agony  increased  to  such  a  degree  that  my  father  said 
that  if  he  was  not  relieved  soon  he  could  not  live.  A 
physician  was  immediately  sent  for,  and  he  came  and 
used  measures  which  he  supposed  would  be  efficacious. 
They  relieved  temporarily,  and  the  physician  left  with 
a  request  that,  if  he  should  be  needed  again,  he  might  be 
promptly  sent  for  at  any  hour  of  the  night.  About 
midnight  the  pain  returned  with  increased  violence, 
and  the  physician  was  again  summoned.  Upon  my 
mother's  inquiring  of  him  if  he  apprehended  danger, 
as,  if  this  was  the  case,  she  wished  to  send  for  her 
children,  he  advised  her  to  send  for  them.  By  two 
o'clock  they  were  all  around  his  bed,  and  faithfully  and 
untiringly  was  he  ministered  unto  by  wife  and  children, 
until  he  was  gathered,  like  a  shock  of  corn  fully  ripe, 
to  the  Heavenly  garner.  He  lingered  until  the  13th  of 
February,  ten  days  after  the  commencement  of  his  ill- 
ness. He  was  only  partially  conscious,  and  what  was 
a  source  of  great  regret  to  his  family,  could  not  con- 
verse with  them,  his  power  of  speech  being  almost  en- 
tirely gone.    He  would  occasionally  call  some  member  of 


154 

the  family,  and  very  often  my  mother, — a  name  familiar 
and  endeared  for  nearly  sixty  years, — but  nothing  more. 
On  one  occasion  his  colleague,  when  visiting  him,  said 
to  him — "Doctor,  the  Saviour  whom  you  have  so  long 
recommended  to  others  is  with  you  now."  He  assented 
by  bowing  his  head  two  or  three  times.  As  day  after 
day,  and  night  after  night  passed,  the  anxious  group 
about  the  bedside  saw  that  their  loved  and  venerated 
one  was  nearing  the  grave.  Death  was  slowly,  but 
steadily,  advancing,  and  heart  and  flesh  were  failing ; 
but,  although  they  realized  this,  they  felt  that  God 
would  be  the  strength  of  his  heart  and  his  portion  for- 
ever. He  could  not  tell  them,  in  dying  words,  that  his 
hope  in  God  was  strong,  and  his  confidence  in  the  Rock 
of  Ages  unshaken — this  would  indeed  have  been  grati- 
fying— but  what  was  lacking  in  his  death-bed,  was 
abundantly  supplied  by  his  life.  His  attentive  physi- 
cians did  all  in  their  power  to  relieve  his  sufferings 
and  minister  to  his  comfort ;  but  they  could  not  restore 
decayed  nature,  or  avert  the  impending  stroke  of  death. 
They  watched  him  by  night  and  by  day,  and  one  of 
them  requested  that  he  might  be  permitted  to  remain 
with  him  to  the  last,  and  close  his  eyes  in  death.  The 
anxious  group  sat  in  solemn  stillness  around  his  death- 
bed, feeling  that  if  death  was  there  dissolving   the 


155 

earthly  tabernacle,  Jesus  was  there  also  to  convey  the 
immortal  spirit  to  its  eternal  resting  place.  The 
breathing  became  more  and  more  laboured,  then  longer 
intervals  elapsed  after  each  breath,  until  sweetly  and 
peacefully  he  fell  asleep  in  Jesus,  at  a  quarter  past 
eleven  o'clock,  on  the  night  of  the  13th  of  February, 
1863." 

The  Funeral  service  took  place  in  the  Spring  Garden 
Church,  the  scene  of  his  last  labours,  on  Wednesday 
morning,  February  18th.  The  procession  formed  at 
ten  o'clock,  at  the  then  late  residence  of  the  deceased, 
consisting  of  a  very  large  number  of  Clergymen,  of 
various  denominations;  the  Faculty  and  Trustees  of 
the  College  of  New  Jersey ;  the  Boards  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church;  the  Trustees  of  the  Spring  Garden 
Church ;  the  Pastor  and  Session  of  the  Church  of  Eliz- 
abeth, N.  J. ;  the  Congregation  of  the  Spring  Garden 
Church  ;  Bible  and  Sabbath  School  Classes  of  the  same 
church  ;  and  a  large  circle  of  friends.  As  the  j^roces- 
sion  entered  the  church,  the  choir  sung  the  hymn  com- 
mencing, 

''Hear  what  the  voice  from  Heaven  proclaims/' 

and  the  coffin  was  placed  in  front  of  the  pulpit.  The 
Rev.  Albert  Barnes  commenced  the  service  by  reading 
a  number   of  appropriate  passages  of  Scripture,  con- 


156 

eluding  with  the  passage  from  which  Dr.  McDowell 
preached  thirty-eight  years  before,  at  Mr.  Barnes'  Ordi- 
nation,— namely :  "  Obey  them  that  have  the  rule  over 
you,"  &c.  The  624th  Hymn,  "  How  blest  the  righteous 
when  he  dies!"  was  then  read  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph 
H.  Jones,  and  sung  by  the  choir.  Prayer  was  then 
offered  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Shields,  after  which  the  surviv- 
ing Pastor  of  the  church  delivered  an  Address,  con- 
taining an  affectionate,  faithful  and  beautiful  delinea- 
tion of  Dr.  McDowell's  character.  Then  followed  an 
Address  by  Professor  Green,  of  the  Princeton  Seminary, 
who  succeeded  Dr.  McDowell  as  Pastor  of  the  Central 
Church,  and  also  Addresses  from  the  Rev.  Drs.  Hodge 
and  McLean,  of  Princeton,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Boardman, 
of  Philadelphia,  each  of  whom  bore  an  honourable  tes- 
timony to  the  excellent  character  and  eminently  useful 
life  of  the  deceased.  These  several  Addresses  were 
afterwards  published  in  a  pamphlet.  Dr.  Shields  then 
read  the  concluding  Hymn,  "Unveil  thy  bosom,  faith- 
ful tomb,"  and  the  Benediction  was  pronounced  by  the 
Rev.  John  Chambers.  Before  leaving  the  church,  the 
lid  of  the  coffin  was  removed,  and  the  congregation 
passed  round  to  take  a  last  look  of  their  venerated 
Pastor  and  friend.  At  the  grave  the  services  were 
conducted  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kempshall,  Pastor  of  the 


157 

Church  at  Elizabeth,  of  which  Dr.  McDowell  had  the 
charge  for  so  many  years.  The  benediction  was  pro- 
nounced by  the  Rev.  Thomas  G.  Allen,  of  the  Episco- 
pal Church,  who,  fifty  years  before,  had  been  a  pupil 
of  Dr.  McDowell. 

He  was  the  father  of  three  children,  two  of  whom, 
with  their  mother,  still  survive. 


Resolutions  passed  on  occasion  of  Dr.  McDowell's 
Death. 

The   Spring   Garden  Church  unanimously  adopted 

the  following : 

Resolved,  1.  That,  in  the  decease  of  our  venerable  Senior 
Pastor,  Rev.  John  McDowell,  D.  D.,  we  recognize  the  sove- 
reign right  of  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church  to  dispose  of 
his  servants  according  to  his  own  will. 

Resolved,  2.  That,  in  the  long  and  active  life  of  our  be- 
loved Pastor,  we  have  great  reason  to  rejoice  and  to  thank 
God  for  all  that  He  accomplished  throug-h  him  in  the  pro- 
motion of  his  glory. 

Resolved,  3.  That,  in  uniform  regularity,  in  precise  punctu- 
ality, and  in  an  unwearied  perseverance,  even  up  to  tlie  last 
hour  of  physical  ability,  our  departed  Pastor  set  a  noble  ex- 
ample, and  was  thereby  enabled  to  perform  a  vast  amount  of 
effective  labour. 

Resolved,  4.  That,  in  being  permitted  to  exercise  the  func- 
tions of  the  Gospel  ministry  for  fifty-seven  years,  with  less 
than  a  single  month's  interruption  in  all  that  period,  our  be- 
loved Pastor  was   greatly  honoured  by  his  Divine  Master 
14 


158 

and  discharged  an  amount  of  ministerial  labour,    such   as 
seldom  falls  to  the  share  of  any  one  man. 

Resolved,  5.  That  the  Session  of  Spring  Garden  Presbyte- 
rian Church  cherish  the  memory  of  its  first,  and  for  fourteen 
years  its  only,  Pastor,  with  a  lively  sense  of  his  large  instru- 
mentality in  its  foundation  and  prosperity. 

Resolved,  6.  That,  as  a  Session,  we  tender  to  the  family  of 
our  late  Pastor  oiu'  warmest  sympathies  in  this  hour  of  their 
bereavement. 

Resolved,  1.  That,  in  token  of  our  regard  for  our  deceased 
Pastor,  and  of  our  bereavement  in  his  removal,  the  Church 
be  clothed  in  mourning. 

MORRIS  C.  SUTPHEN,  Moderator. 
H.  D.  GREGORY,  Clerk  of  Session. 


The  Central  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  at  their 

meeting  immediately  succeeding  Dr.  McDowelPs  death, 

adopted  the  following  minute  : 

The  Great  Head  of  the  Church  having  recently  removed 
by  death  our  honoured  and  beloved  co-presbyter,  the  Rev. 
John  McDowell,  D.  D.,  we  record  our  sense  of  loss  in  his 
removal,  and  our  confidence  that  what  is  loss  to  us  is  gain 
to  him.  A  volume  only  could  adequately  .set  forth  his  many 
virtues  as  a  Man,  Friend,  Christian,  and  Minister  of  Christ, 
or  the  variety  and  amount  of  labour  prosecuted  by  him  so 
successfully  during  a  ministry  protracted  far  beyond  the  or- 
dinary limit.  His  example,  especially  as  a  Presbyter,  we 
can  never  forget.  His  conscientious,  constant  and  punctual 
attendance  upon  the  various  judicatories  of  the  Church,  his 
readiness  to  assume  burdens,  and  his  fidelity  in  performance 
of  the  various  duties  imposed  upon  him;  his  patience  of 
details;  the  wisdom  of  his  counsels;  his  uniform  urbanity, 
whether   as  Presiding  Officer  or  any  other  position  he  occu- 


159 

pied,  will  always  be  remembered  by  us,  and  with  devout 
gratitude  to  God  that  it  was  our  privilege  to  be  among  his 
contemporaries.  In  fine.  Dr.  McDowell  will  ever  be  in  our 
minds  as  a  model  Presbyter. 

We  bow  submissively  to  the  dispensation  of  Providence 
which  has  removed  him  from  us,  hoping  and  praying  that 
our  "  last  end  may  be  like  his." 

J.  EDWARDS,  Stated  Clerk. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  held 
on  the  7th  of  April,  1863,  the  following  paper,  pre- 
sented by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Boardman,  was  unanimously 
adopted  : 

"  1.  The  Rev.  Jno.  McDowell,  D.  D.,  Pastor  of  the  Spring 
Garden  Church,  in  this  city,  having  been  removed  by  death, 
since  our  last  stated  meeting,  this  Pi'esbytery,  of  which  he 
was,  for  many  years,  an  honoured  and  useful  member,  rever- 
ently acknowledge  the  hand  of  God  in  this  dispensation. 

"  2.  The  Presbytery  recall,  with  great  interest,  the  many 
virtues  with  which  the  character  of  this  venerable  servant  of 
God  was  adorned  ;  his  eminent  piety,  his  extraordinary 
labours  in  the  service  of  his  Master,  his  consistent  life,  the 
faithful  devotion  of  his  entire  being  to  the  work  confided  to 
him,  and  the  signal  blessing  with  which  God  was  pleased  to 
attend  his  ministry. 

"  3.  We  desire  to  express  our  gratitude  to  God  for  pro- 
longing the  life  and  labours  of  our  revered  father,  for  upwards 
of  four  score  years,  and  for  the  holy  peace  and  joy  which 
marked  his  transition  from  the  toils  and  conflicts  of  earth,  to 
the  joy  of  his  Lord. 

"  4.  We  tender  our  cordial  sympathy  to  the  bereaved 
widow  and   children  of  our  deceased  father,  and  commend 


160 

them  to  the  care  of  a  Covenaut  God,  and  the  ministration  of 
the  Divine  Comforter."  W.  M.  RICE, 

Stated  Clerk. 


The  Presbyterian  Board  of  Education  at  its  meet- 
ing on  the  3d  of  April,  1863,  adopted  the  following  : 

Resolved,  That  the  Board  of  Education,  having  been  de- 
prived by  death  of  their  late  Vice-President,  the  Rev.  John 
McDowell,  D.  D.,  do  here  record  their  deep  sense  of  this  be- 
reavement, and  their  devout  gratitude  for  the  many  valuable 
services  of  that  godly  and  faithful  minister  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

From  the  origin  of  this  institution  through  all  its  varied 
tibials  and  successes,  until  its  present  widely  extended 
growth  and  usefulness,  he  has  continued  its  warm  friend  and 
firm  supporter;  and  has  uniformly  brought  to  it,  both  as  an 
officer  and  a  member,  that  zeal,  fidelity  and  prudence  which 
marked  him  in  every  place  of  trust  and  duty. 

Our  Minutes  bear  record  to  his  punctuality  and  faithful- 
ness; and,  in  addition  to  his  counsels  and  labours,  we  have 
had,  in  all  his  personal  intercourse,  the  example  of  a  good 
man,  who  daily  walked  with  God,  and  lived  in  perfect 
charity  with  his  brethren. 

In  common  with  our  whole  Church,  so  widely  extended 
and  trained  during  his  ministry  of  more  than  half  a  century; 
with  the  many  public  institutions  in  which  he  was  an  active 
worker;  w^ith  the  different  congregations  which  he  served  as 
a  faithful  Pastor;  and  with  the  thousands  of  Christian  peo- 
ple who  speak  his  name  with  reverence  and  love;  we  make 
our  special  tribute  to  his  memory. 

And,  in  tendering  a  copy  of  this  record  to  his  bereaved 
widow  and  family,  we  invoke  for  them  those  rich  consola- 
tions which  have  crowned  such  a  useful  life  with  such  a 
blessed  death. 


161 

The  Executive  Committee  of  the  Board  of  Domes- 
tic Missions  in  session  February  23,  1863,  at  Phila- 
delphia, passed  the  following  minute  : 

The  Committee  record  the  decease,  on  the  13th  instant,  of 
the  Rev.  Dr.  John  McDowell,  their  Chairman  since  June, 
1833, —  a  few  months  lacking  thirty  years.  During  that 
long  period  he  was  indefatigable  in  his  attendance  on  the 
weekly  meetings  of  the  Committee,  until  the  infirmities  of 
great  age  warned  him  to  desist.  Wise  in  counsel,  kind  and 
genial  in  his  intercourse  with  his  fellow  members,  earnest  in 
the  great  work  of  Domestic  Missions,  few  men  could  have 
held  the  Chairmanship  of  the  Committee  so  long  with  such 
acceptableness  to  his  associates,  who  rejoiced,  year  by  year, 
to  elect  him,  and,  contrary  to  his  remonstrance  at  last, 
because  of  his  feebleness,  to  resolve  to  continue  him  in  the 
chair  until  his  Master  should  call  him.  We  thank  God,  who 
spared  him  to  his  Church  and  cause  so  long  —  we  bless  God 
that  he  was  permitted  to  see  the  Board  he  loved  so  dearly, 
advance  from  its  humble  beginning  thirty  years  ago,  to  the 
high  position  it  obtained  previous  to  the  civil  commotions 
that  now  darken  our  sky.  In  advanced  age,  amid  the  re- 
grets of  the  people  of  God,  he  has  come  to  his  grave,  and 
his  works  do  follow  him.  We  place  this  simple  memorial  on 
record,  as  our  testimony  to  the  gr^at  worth  and  excellencies 
of  our  venerable  Chairman, 


At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Domestic  Missions  of 
THE  Presbyterian  Church,  held  at  Philadelphia,  March 
9th,  1863,  the  following  was  entered  upon  their  Min- 
utes : — 

#14 


162 

On.  motion,  Resolved,  That  the  Rev.  Drs.  H.  S,  Clarke  and 
T.  L.  Janeway  be  appointed  a  Committee  to  prepare  a  minute 
relative  to  the  decease  of  our  late  President,  Rev.  John  Mc- 
Dowell, D.  D.  The  Committee  reported  the  following- 
minute,  viz: 

It  having  pleased  God  recently  to  remove  from  us,  by 
death,  the  Rev.  John  McDowell,  D.  D.,  a  member  from  its 
organization,  and  for  several  years  past,  the  President  of  the 
Board,  we  desire  to  record  our  sense  of  loss  in  his  removal, 
and  our  unwavering  trust  that  he  has  departed  to  be  forever 
with  the  Lord. 

Admonished  by  his  departure  to  be  also  ready,  it  becomes 
us  to  keep  in  mind  the  lesson  Divine  Providence  thus  teaches 
us.  Nor  would  we  forget  the  lessons  taught  us  by  the  life  of 
this  venerable  servant  of  God  any  more  than  that  taught  by 
his  death.  Like  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  he  was  "a  good  man 
and  a  just."  His  urbanity  and  kindness,  his  punctuality 
and  fidelity  te  trusts  confided  to  him;  his  interest  in  what- 
soever would  promote  the  public  weal;  his  devotion  to  the 
special  work  to  which  his  Master  appointed  him;  his 
interest  in  all  that  concerned  the  welfare  of  the  Church  of 
God ;  his  ardent  desire  and  constant  and  faithful  efforts  for 
the  salvation  of  souls,  during  a  ministry  protracted  far 
beyond  the  ordinary  limit,  affoid  a  striking  example  for  our 
imitation.  We  rejoice  at  the  success  which  attended  his 
labours;  and  though,  with  no  ordinary  sorrow,  we  remember 
that  we  shall  see  his  face  no  more  on  earth,  we  bow  to  the 
Divine  will,  desiring  to  say,  with  Christian  submission,  "The 
Lord  o-ave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away;  blessed  be  the 
name  of  the  Lord." 


The  Board  of  Publication  of  the  Presbvterian 
Church,  at  a  meeting  held  in  Philadelphia,  on  the  l7th 
of  February,  1863,  unanimously  adopted  the  following 
minute  : 


163 

The  Board,  having  learned  with  regret  that  their  old  friend 
and  co-labourer,  the  Kev.  John  McDowell,  D.  D.,  had  departed 
this  life,  here  record  the  event  in  testimony  of  their  sincere 
appreciation  of  his  character  as  a  Man  and  Christian.  Dr. 
McDowell,  after  a  long  life  of  usefulness,  died  at  his  resi- 
dence in  Philadelphia,  on  the  13th  of  February,  1863,  in  the 
eighty-third  year  of  his  age.  It  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  few 
men  to  have  lived  so  blameless,  active,  useful  and  holy  a  life 
as  our  departed  friend.  His  earthly  career  was  unusually 
protracted,  and  yet,  nearly  to  its  close,  it  was  characterized 
by  untiring  activity  in  the  service  of  his  Divine  Master.  He 
literally  abounded  in  labours  of  love,  and  has  received  the 
reward  of  a  good  man  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  As  a  Pastor, 
in  several  large  and  important  charges,  he  fulfilled  his  min- 
istry with  signal  ability  and  zeal,  and,  it  is  believed,  was  the 
honoured  instrument  of  turning  souls  to  Christ.  His  life  was 
pure  and  exemplar}^,  and  through  it  he  preached  as  well  as 
by  his  pulpit  ministrations.  As  an  active  participator  in  all 
the  religious  and  benevolent  institutions  of  the  Church,  he 
was  ever  found  at  the  post  of  duty,  and  prompt  to  render  his 
services.  His  name  is  indelibly  inscribed  on  these  institu- 
tions from  their  early  formation  to  their  fruitful  maturity.  In 
the  Ecclesiastical  Courts  he  was  conscientiously  punctual, 
and  uniformly"  manifested  his  anxiety  that  all  things  should 
be  done  decently  and  in  order,  to  the  honour  of  his  Lord.  In 
all  the  relations  of  life  he  was  an  example,  and  few  have  bet- 
ter illustrated  their  relations  as  a  Husband,  a  Father,  a  Friend, 
and  Christian  Minister.  Through  the  good  providence  of  God 
he  was  long  spared  to  the  Church;  and  when  the  great  objects 
of  life  were  accomplished,  he  piously  and  happily  terminated 
his  cai'eer,  that  he  might  be  forever  with  the  Lord.  Surely 
blessed  ai-e  the  dead  that  die  in  the  Lord,  for  they  rest  from 
their  labours,  and  their  works  do  follow  them. 

Besolved,  That  this  Board,  while  making  this  record  of  one 
they  loved  and  revered,  express  their  sincere  sympathy  with 


164 

his  surviving  widow,  with  whom  he  has  happily  lived  for 
near  three-score  years,  and  all  surviving  relatives. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  be  sent  to  the  fam- 
ily of  the  deceased,  properly  attested,  and  that  the  Board 
attend  the  Funeral  on  Wednesday  morning  next. 

W.  E.  SOHENCK,  Cor.  Sec'y. 


165 


CHAPTER  V. 

Summary  of  the  Extraordinary  Results  of  his  Min- 
istry, AND  HOW  they  HAVE   BEEN  ATTAINED. 

It  is  not  easy  to  form  a  definite  idea  of  the  influence 
consequent  upon  the  life  of  any  individual,  especially 
of  one  who  occupied  so  wide  a  sphere,  and  was  active 
at  so  many  points  in  sustaining  and  advancing  the  in- 
terests of  the  Church,  and  moulding  the  destinies  of 
society,  as  Dr.  McDowell.  I  will  endeavour  to  present 
the  results  of  his  labours  under  two  or  three  different 
aspects.  But  it  is  not  to  be  forgotten  that,  as  all  in- 
fluence is  progressive,  so  these  results,  as  already 
developed,  only  mark  a  fresh  starting  point  for  still 
nobler  and  grander  results,  which,  though  lost  from  all 
human  observation,  will  be  revealed  in  the  day  of  final 
recompense. 

As  the  grand  design  of  the  Christian  ministry  is  to 
bring  the  Gospel  in  contact  with  the  hearts  of  men  as 
a  regenerating  and  savins-  power,  so  there  is  no  better 
test  of  a  minister's  fidelity  and  usefulness  than  the 
number  who  are  received  to  the  Church  under  his  min- 


166 

istry,  provided  due  caution  be  exercised  in  respect  to 
their  admission.  It  is  indeed  quite  possible  to  gather 
into  the  Church  scores  and  even  hundreds  of  persons 
as  the  fruit  of  what  passes  for  a  revival  of  religion,  ' 
when  a  large  number,  perhaps  a  majority  of  them,  are 
utter  strangers  to  true  Christian  experience ;  and  the 
consequence  is  that  they  either  become  open  apostates, 
or  live  and  die  self-deceivers  and  formalists.  From 
every  thing  of  this  kind  Dr.  McDowell  was  far  removed 
in  both  principle  and  practice — the  hopeful  subjects  of 
a  revival  he  never  received  to  the  Communion  until  a 
sufficient  time  had  passed  for  testing  the  genuineness 
of  their  experience  ;  and  hence  it  was  a  rare  thing  that 
he  admitted  any  one  who  subsequently  proved  recreant 
to  Christian  obligations.  The  revivals  which  took 
place  under  his  ministry  were  generally  characterized 
not  only  by  great  power,  but  by  a  deep  thoughtfulness, 
and  an  orderly  and  solemn  stillness,  that  impressed 
upon  them  the  unmistakable  insignia  of  the  Spirit  of 
God.  It  is  reasonable,  therefore,  to  consider  the  great 
number  of  revivals  which  occurred  under  his  ministry, 
and  the  immense  number  of  persons  whom  they  were  in- 
strumental of  bringing  into  the  Church,  as  a  Divine 
attestation  to  the  real  success  of  his  labours. 

During  his  pastorate  at  Elizabethtown,  comprising  a 


U1 

period  of  twenty-eight  years  and  a  half,  he  was  privi- 
leged to  witness,  in  connection  with  his  labours,  no 
less  than  seven  revivals ;  the  first  of  which  brought 
into  the  church  120;  the  second  110;  the  third  180. 
At  the  time  of  his  settlement,  the  whole  number  of 
communicants  in  the  church  was  207.  In  1820,  they 
numbered  660.  In  that  year,  on  account  of  the  large- 
ness of  the  church,  a  colony  from  it  was  formed  into  a 
Second  Church,  of  which  the  Rev.  (now  Dr.)  David 
Magie  became  Pastor.  During  the  whole  period  of  his 
connection  with  this  church  there  were  added  to  the 
communion  on  examination,  921 ;  and,  on  certificate 
from  other  churches,  223  ;  making  a  total  of  1,144. 
His  ministry  at  Philadelphia  fell  into  a  period  in  which 
revivals  of  religion  were  much  less  frequent  in  the 
country  at  large  than  they  had  been  during  the  quar- 
ter of  a  century  immediately  preceding.  He  was  not 
permitted  here  to  witness,  in  a  high  degree,  a  repeti- 
tion of  those  scenes  which  had  so  signalized  his  minis- 
try at  Elizabethtown ;  and  yet  a  constant  Divine  bless- 
ing seemed  to  attend  his  labours,  and,  at  several  dijBfer- 
ent  periods,  the  general  state  of  religious  feeling  was 
greatly  quickened  among  his  people,  and  considerable 
additions  made  to  the  church.  During  the  twelve 
years  and  a  half   that  he  ministered  to    the  Central 


168 

Church,  the  whole  number  added  on  examination  was 
218  ;  on  certificate,  312  ;  making  a  total  of  530.  During 
his  ministry  of  about  sixteen  years  in  the  Spring  Gar- 
den Church,  he  received,  on  examination,  exclusive  of 
the  8*7  members  of  whom  the  church  was  originally  con- 
stituted, 194;  and  on  certificate,  397;  making  a  total 
of  591.  The  whole  number  of  members  added  to  the 
communion  of  the  three  churches  during  his  ministry 
among  them,  was,  on  examination,  1333;  on  certifi- 
cate, 932;  total,  2265. 

Among  those  who  were  brought  into  the  Church 
under  Dr.  McDowell's  ministry  were  not  a  few  young 
men,  who  afterwards  received  a  liberal  education,  some 
of  whom  became  distinguished  in  civil  life,  while  oth- 
ers became  useful  and  honoured  ministers  of  the  Gos- 
pel. Of  these,  some  still  survive  ;  and  one  at  least, 
who  has  inherited  much  of  the  spirit  of  his  venerable 
Pastor,  and  has  spent  his  whole  ministerial  life  in 
charge  of  a  portion  of  the  flock  in  whose  bosom  he  was 
born,  is  yet,  not  only  in  word  but  in  deed,  a  vigorous 
and  earnest  witness  to  the  admirable  pastoral  training 
which  he  enjoyed  in  his  early  years. 

But  it  was  not  merely  in  enlarging  the  membership 
of  the  several  churches  of  which  he  had  the  pastoral 
charge,  but  in  ministering  to  their  strength  and  pros- 


169 

perity  in  other  ways,  that  Dr.  McDowell  impressed 
upon  them  an  enduring  mark  of  his  ability  and  fidelity. 
The  Church  at  Elizahethtown,  when  he  becam.e  its  Pas- 
tor, was  in  a  divided  and  agitated  state,  owing  to  diffi- 
culties which  had  arisen  in  connection  with  the  min- 
istry of  his  predecessor;  and,  considering  his  utter 
lack  of  professional  experience,  it  seemed  hazardous  for 
him  to  undertake,  such  a  charge;  but  he  very  soon 
showed  himself  adequate  to  its  responsibilities.  The 
lines  of  division  gradually  became  more  faint,  until, 
after  a  short  time,  they  disappeared  altogether ;  and  the 
congregation,  during  his  whole  ministry,  was  not  only 
one  of  the  largest,  but  one  of  the  most  harmonious,  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  As  first  Pastor  of  the  Cen- 
tral Presb3'terian  Church  in  Philadelphia,  he  had  a  pri- 
mary agency  in  moulding  its  cliaracter,  and  elevating 
it  to  the  high  position  which  it  has  ever  since  held 
among  the  sister  churches  of  the  city.  During  his 
pastorate  there,  he  also  took  the  lead  in  planting  a 
missionary  in  Cohocksink,  then  a  very  destitute  neigh- 
bourhood, in  the  Northern  suburbs  of  Philadelphia, — 
an  enterprise  which  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  a 
new  Presbyterian  church.  But  perhaps  the  greatest 
achievement  of  his    life  was  in    connection  with   the 

Spring  Garden  Church,  which  has  justly  been  styled 
15 


170 

"  the  child  of  his  old  age."  Not  only  was  he  a  princi- 
pal projector  of  this  enterprise,  but  a  large  part  of  the 
labour  connected  with  it  devolved  upon  him ;  espec- 
ially the  raising  of  the  requisite  pecuniary  means, 
which  he  did  chiefly  by  personal  application  to  indi- 
viduals of  his  acquaintance.  And  when,  a  little  less 
than  four  years  after,  the  beautiful  building,  which  had 
been  so  happily  finished  and  so  pleasantly  occupied, 
became  an  unsightly  mass  of  ruins,  he  lost  no  time  in 
moving  to  repair  the  desolation,  but  went  forth,  with 
full  confidence  of  success,  to  resume  the  labour  of  col- 
lecting funds  —  and,  within  an  almost  incredibly  brief 
period,  the  house  was  rebuilt,  and  was  every  way  a  finer 
edifice  than  that  which  had  preceded  it — and  it  was 
not  long  before  he  was  privileged  to  know  that  the  last 
debt  against  the  church  was  cancelled.  Into  the  sev- 
eral churches  of  which  he  has  had  the  pastoral  charge, 
be  has  instrumentally  breathed  a  spirit  of  earnest 
Christian  activity  and  intense  devotion  to  the  interests 
of  Christ's  Kingdom,  that  has  given  them  a  goodly 
prominence  in  our  denomination.  So,  too,  he  has  made 
them  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel,  as  they  are  set  forth  in  the  standards  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  ;  while  yet  they  have  been  taught 
to   practise  an  enlarged  liberality,  by  witnessing  his 


171 

pleasant  relations,  and  cordial  co-operation  for  good 
objects,  with  ministers  of  other  communions.  The 
children  and  youth  have  been  specially  cared  for  under 
his  ministry  —  the  Sunday  School  and  the  Bible  Class 
each  constituted  an  important  part  of  the  machinery 
by  which  he  carried  forward  his  work ;  and  each  was, 
either  directly  or  indirectly,  under  his  guidance  and 
control.  While  he  aimed  at  the  promotion  of 
morality  chiefly  by  bringing  men  to  embrace  Chris- 
tianity as  a  living  and  sanctifying  power,  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  make  direct  and  powerful  appeals  in  favour 
of  the  laws  of  both  God  and  man,  and,  in  some  instan- 
ces, was  instrumental  in  arresting  fearful  evils  which 
were  coming  in  upon  the  community  like  a  flood. 

But  no  small  part  of  the  influence  which  Dr.  Mc- 
Dowell exerted  was  through  wider  and  more  public 
channels ;  and,  though  it  became  less  palpable  as  it 
grew  more  diffusive,  it  was  nevertheless  a  real  and 
mighty  element  in  the  progress  of  the  Church.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly  that  founded 
the  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  and  was  identi- 
fied with  it  as  a  Director,  and  Secvetary  of  the  Board 
of  Directors,  from  its  beginning  in  1812,  and  as  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  from  1825  —  all 
which  offices  he  held  till  his  death,  with  the  escep- 


172 

tion  of  the  Secretaryship,  which  he  resigned  in  1860. 
At  several  different  periods,  he  served  as  an  Agent 
to  collect  funds  for  this  institution,  aud  in  his  me- 
morable tour  through  the  Southern  States,  in  1818, 
he  received  for  this  object  from  fifteen  to  twenty  thou- 
sand dollars.  The  interests  of  the  Seminary  were 
always  upon  his  heart,  and  he  never  lost  an  opportu- 
nity of  promoting  them  by  any  means  within  his  reach. 
He  manifested  his  friendship  especially  towards  the 
students,  as  he  became  acquainted  with  them,  welcom- 
ing them  to  his  house,  giving  them  the  benefit  of  his 
long  experience  in  practical  hints  and  suggestions,  and 
sometimes  in  procuring  the  pecuniary  means  for  prose- 
cuting their  education.  Indeed,  any  young  man  who 
hailed  from  the  Seminary  he  seemed  to  look  upon  with 
an  almost  paternal  regard  ;  and  how  much  he  accom- 
plished by  this  kind  of  intercourse  it  must  be  left  to 
the  great  day  of  revelation  to  disclose. 

Not  only  was  Dr.  McDowell  very  often  a  member  of 
the  General  Assembly,  and  a  delegate  from  that  body 
to  other  ecclesiastical  bodies  of  different  denomina- 
tions, but  he  also  held,  at  different  periods,  the  offices 
of  Permanent  Clerk,  Stated  Clerk,  and  Trustee  of 
the  General  Assembly,  in  each  of  which  he  rendered 
valuable   service,  and   exerted  an  important  influence. 


173 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Convention  that  formed  the 
American  Bible  Society,  in  1816,  and  always  continued 
the  warm  friend  and  active  supporter  of  that  noble 
institution.  With  the  cause  of  Missions,  both  Foreign 
and  Domestic,  with  Education,  Tract  and  other  Socie- 
ties, he  identified  himself  in  various  ways,  and  never 
seemed  at  rest  if  he  was  not  doing  something,  through 
some  channel,  to  extend  the  knowledge  and  influence 
of  the  Gospel. 

Dr.  McDowell  accomplished  much  also  for  the  cause 
of  Education.  From  the  year  1814  he  was  a  Trustee 
of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  and  was  always  on  the 
alert  to  serve  its  interests,  both  at  home  and  abroad. 
In  one  instance  at  least,  he  took  an  agency  in  behalf 
of  this  institution,  making  collections  in  Pennsylvania 
and  Maryland,  and  as  far  South  as  Washington  City. 
To  the  various  schools  in  his  own  town  he  was  always 
ready  to  lend  a  helping  hand.  The  formerly  well  known 
and  still  well  remembered  school  of  Miss  Gorham  was 
much  indebted  to  his  influence  for  the  rank  which  it 
took  among  the  best  female  schools  of  that  day. 
And  he  was  especially  devoted  to  the  religious  inte- 
rests of  the  pupils  —  he  visited  them,  and  counselled 
them,     with     the     solicitude     and    tenderness    of    a 

father;  and  it  is  confidently  believed  that  not  a  few 
*15 


114 

of  them  will  be  among  the  gems  in  his  immortal 
crown. 

Dr.  McDowell  contributed  somewhat  liberally  to  the 
religious  literature  of  his  day.  His  writings  are 
characterized  bj'  great  simplicity,  perspicuity  and  di- 
rectness, and  show  the  workings  of  a  mind  and  heart 
earnestly  bent  on  doing  good.  The  most  important 
work  from  his  pen  is  his  System  of  Theology,  in  two 
volumes,  octavo,  published  in  1825.  In  1839,  he  pub- 
lished the  Bible  Class  Manual,  in  two  volumes,  duode- 
cimo. In  1816,  appeared  his  System  of  Bible  Ques- 
tions, on  the  Historical  parts  of  Scripture  —  the  first 
book  of  the  kind  published  in  this  country.  About 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  copies  had  been  pub- 
lished and  circulated,  when  it  was  superseded  by  the 
Union  Questions  of  the  American  Sunday  School 
Union. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  he  published  the  following 
Sermons,  chiefly  in  pamphlet  form : 

A  Sermon  on  Horse  Racing, 1809 

A  New  Year's  Sermon, 1811 

The  Good  Man:   A.  Sermon, 

Two  Sermons  in  the  New  Jersey  Preacher, 1813 

Human  Depravity  and  its  Remedy:  A  Sermon  in  the 

National  Preacher, 183T 

Joshua's  Resolution  :    Two  Sermons    in   the  National 

Preacher, 1830 


175 

A  Sermon  before  the  American  Board  of  Foreig-n  Mis- 
sions,    1837 

A  Sermon  on  the  Death  of  the   Rev.   William   Latta, 

D.  D., 184T 

A  Sermon  on  the  Death  of  Alexander  Henry, 1847 

A  Sermon  on  the  Death  of  the  Rev.  James  W.  Stewart,  1849 

Fifty  Years  a  Pastor:  A  Semi-centennary  Discourse,  .  .  1855 

Such  is  a  mere  outline  of  the -results  of  the  labours 
of  this  venerable  man.  If  we  could  trace  the  diver- 
sified influence  of  his  life,  in  all  his  different  spheres 
of.  action,  and  through  the  many  invisible  channels  by 
which  it  has  been  communicated  ;  if  we  could  see 
how  much  better  the  world  is  at  this  hour  for  his 
having  lived  in  it;  how  many  agencies  for  good  are  in 
operation  which,  but  for  him,  would  not  have  been 
created  ;  how  many  are  already  before  the  throne  in 
white  robes,  and  how  many  more  are  waiting  to 
ascend,  who,  if  they  had  not  come  under  his  influence, 
might  have  kept  on  in  the  broad  road  to  death, —  if 
our  vision  could  be  quickened  and  enlarged  to  such  an 
estimate  as  this,- — his  life  would  assume  an  importance 
of  which  we  can  at  present  have  no  adequate  concep- 
tion. But,  even,  with  our  imperfect  and  limited  views, 
we  can  see  that  his  career  was  one  of  extraordinary 
usefulness ;  that  he  was  honoured  of  God,  as  few  of 
his   servants  are,  in  ministering  to  the  well-being  of 


176 

the  race,  and  sustaining  and  carrying  forward  the 
interests  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom. 

It  becomes  a  matter  of  deep  interest  to  inquire  how 
the  fact  is  to  be  accounted  for  that  such  a  vast  amount 
of  good  should  be  accomplished  by  a  single  life — ^for  it 
may  safely  be  said  that  there  are  few  men  in  an  age 
whose  influence  operates  at  once  so  benignly,  so  power- 
fully, so  extensively,  as  does  that  of  the  man  whose 
history  we  are  contemplating.  If  I  mistake  not,  the 
reason  of  this  is  to  be  found  partly  in  the  peculiar 
qualities  of  mind  and  heart  with  which  our  friend  was 
originally  endowed ;  partly  in  the  providence  of  God, 
moulding  his  character,  and  ordering  his  lot ;  and  to 
crown  all,  in  the  large  measure  of  Divine  spiritual  in- 
fluence by  which  his  labours  were  attended. 

Dr.  McDowell's  mind  was  neither  peculiarly  meta- 
physical nor  peculiarly  imaginative  ;  but  it  was  clear 
in  its  perceptions,  accurate  and  safe  in  its  judgments, 
and  eminently  practical  in  all  its  tendencies.  Though 
he  had  well  considered  and  thoroughly  established 
principles  in  respect  to  every  thing,  he  accepted  those 
principles,  either  as  obvious  conclusions  from  reason, 
or  as  the  unerring  decisions  of  inspiration,  without 
being  careful  to  subject  them  to  a  rigid  philosophical 


117 

analysis.  He  was  most  at  home  amidst  palpable  reali- 
ties, and  knew  better  than  most  men  how  to  meet  the 
wants  of  the  common  mind.  In  this  lay,  to  a  great 
extent,  the  secret  of  his  wonderful  executive  power — 
few  men,  either  in  the  ministry  or  out  of  it,  could 
address  themselves  with  so  much  facility  and  success 
to  any  enterprise  that  might  demand  attention. 

In  noticing  Dr.  McDowell's  moral  qualities,  it  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that  ♦they  belong  to  a  sanctified 
nature — while  they  indicate  the  distinctive  character 
of  his  original  constitution,  they  have  the  advantage 
of  having  passed  under  the  purifying  and  elevating 
influence  of  a  living  Christianity. 

Among  the  more  prominent  of  his  moral  character- 
istics was  a  rigid  conscientiousness,  an  unswerving  in- 
tegrity, that  no  considerations  of  present  advantage, 
or  worldly  prudence  or  expediency,  could  carry  a  hair's 
breadth  away  from  the  straight  line  of  duty.  Having 
formed  his  judgment  of  what  was  right  by  the  best 
light  he  could  command,  he  adhered  to  his  convictions 
with  great  fidelity  and  steadfastness,  unless  his  opinion 
were  reversed  by  his  being  brought  into  some  brighter 
light.  He  would  never  render  himself  needlessly  ofiens- 
ive  by  assailing  the  opinions  of  others  or  urging  his 
own  on  unsuitable  occasions ;  but  if  he  believed  that 


178 

his  duty  called  him  to  stand  forth  in  defence  of  the 
true  or  the  right,  no  bribe  could  be  tempting  enough, 
no  danger  could  be  sufficiently  appalling,  to  lead  him 
even  to  raise  the  question  whether  he  should  be  divert- 
ed from  his  purpose.  His  course  in  respect  to  the  memo- 
rable Horse  Race,  and  on  one  or  two  other  occasions, 
during  his  ministry  at  Elizabethtown,  showed  that, 
when  great  questions  of  right  were  to  be  settled,  he 
had  nerves  of  iron  with  which  to  encounter  the  fiercest 
opposition  that  could  be  arrayed  against  him.  At  a 
later  period  in  his  ministry,  questions  of  grave  bearing 
on  the  prosperity  of  the  Church  arose,  on  which  he 
differed  from  his  brethren  with  whom  he  had  been  in 
life-long  intimacy;  but,  however  great  the  sacrifice 
that  was  involved,  he  could  not,  either  in  public  or  in 
private,  abate  one  jot  or  tittle  from  his  honest  convic- 
tions. 

He  was  remarkable  also  for  a  habit  of  methodical 
industry.  He  looked  upon  time  as  one  of  the  talents 
which  he  had  received  from  the  Great  Master,  to  be 
employed  in  his  service ;  and  he  was  never  satisfied 
that  any  of  his  moments  should  go  to  waste.  Hence, 
whether  he  was  at  home  or  abroad  ;  whether  some  great 
public  interest  was  pressing  upon  his  attention  or  he 
was  engaged  merely  with  his  ordinary  home  duties,  he 


179 

was  always  a  busy  man — not  indeed  so  busy  as  to  be 
neglectful  of  Christian  hospitalities  and  courtesies  be- 
coming the  situation  in  which  Providence  had  placed 
him,  but  making  it  manifest  to  all  that,  like  his  Divine 
Master,  he  must  always  be  about  his  Father's  business. 
But  then  his  labours  were  so  methodically  arranged,  he 
had  the  business  for  each  day  and  each  hour  so  clearly 
laid  out — so  far  at  least  as  the  ordinary  routine  of  duty 
was  concerned — that  he  never  seemed  in  a  hurry,  and 
never  lost  any  time  in  determining  what  he  should 
do  next.  Those  who  were  in  the  most  intimate  rela- 
tions with  him  have  often  been  struck  with  the  fact 
that  he  would  always,  when  it  was  possible,  give  the 
conversation  a  turn  which  might,  in  some  way,  sub- 
serve the  interest  of  some  good  cause  or  object  which 
he  was  intent  on  promoting. 

It  was  a  legitimate  result  of  his  well  ordered  indus- 
try that  he  was  most  exact  in  meeting  all  his  appoint- 
ments and  engagements.  Punctuality  he  regarded  as 
one  of  the  cardinal  virtues,  the  elements  of  which 
were  truth,  justice  and  honour.  Whoever  else  might 
be  absent  from  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Direc- 
tors of  the  Theological  Seminary,  or  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  the  College,  or  the  Board  of  Missions,  or 
any  other  Board  with  which  he  was  connected,  he  was 


180 

always  punctually  there,  unless  detained  by  some  prov- 
idential event  over  which  he  had  no  control ;  and  his 
associates,  however  they  might  regret  his  absence, 
needed  no  assurance  that  there  was  some  just  cause  for 
it.  The  same  quality  was  manifested  in  respect  to  all 
his  engagements  at  home — indeed  it  pervaded  his  whole 
pastoral  intercourse — his  people  were  trained  to  expect 
that  he  would  be  true  not  only  to  the  hour  but  to  the 
moment ;  and  the  consequence  was  that  they  became 
imbued,  in  no  small  degree,  with  the  same  spirit ;  and 
happily  that  spirit  has  been  kept  in  vigorous  exercise 
by  subsequent  ministrations. 

With  his  untiring  industry  was  intimately  connected 
a  perseverance  that  knew  not  how  to  yield  to  any  ob- 
stacle that  was  not  absolutely  insuperable.  He  was 
often  placed  in  circumstances  which,  to  a  mind  less 
earnest  and  heroic  than  his  own,  would  have  indicated 
that  another  step  in  advance  could  not  be  taken;  and 
yet  the}^  would  only  serve  to  quicken  his  energies  into 
higher  activity,  and  perhaps  convey  to  him  a  fresh 
assurance  of  the  ultimate  accomplishment  of  his  ob- 
ject. If  he  became  satisfied,  as  he  sometimes  did,  that 
duty  required  him  to  pause  in  any  particular  course,  or 
even  withdraw  from  it,  he  had  no  pride  of  consistency 
to  embarrass  him  in  acting  in  accordance  with  his  con- 


181 

victions.  But  in  all  other  cases,  lie  recognized  no  le- 
gitimate stopping  place  except  at  the  point  where  he 
could  reflect  that  his  work  was  done. 

Dr.  McDowell  possessed  a  large  share  of  natural 
benevolence.  Though  his  pecuniary  means  were  never 
ample,  he  always  gave  cheerfully,  up  to  the  full  meas- 
ure of  his  ability.  After  the  destruction  of  the  Spring 
Garden  Church,  he  immediately  started  the  project  of 
rebuilding,  by  heading  the  subscription  with  the  sum 
of  five  hundred  dollars.  Though  he  was  discriminat- 
ing in  the  bestowment  of  his  charities,  his  heart  and 
his  hand  were  always  open  to  the  relief  of  human  suffer- 
ing. And  the  same  spirit  which  moved  him  to  give 
liberally,  prompted  him  also  to  stir  up  others  to  "  go 
and  do  likewise."  He  knew  how  to  approach  indi- 
viduals, of  all  characters,  in  behalf  of  the  great  objects 
of  Christian  benevolence,  as  well  as  any  other  man  ; 
and  hence  the  aggregate  of  his  collections  in  aid  of  dif- 
ferent institutions  and  churches,  during  his  ministry,  is 
probably  greater  than  that  of  any  other  individual  has 
ever  been  within  the  limits  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

His  manners  were  characterized   by  great  simplicity 

and  naturalness,  and  the  absence    of  every  thing  that 

bordered  upon  ostentation.     While  there  was  nothing 

that  betokened  an  early  training  in  elegant   and  fash- 
16 


182 

ionable  society,  there  was  always  a  kindly  and  digni- 
fied manner,  and  a  strict  regard  to  all  the  proprieties 
of  social  life.  While  he  was  ever  ready  to  bear  his 
part  in  conversation,  in  a  free  and  affable  manner,  he 
was  as  far  as  possible  from  assuming  more  than  belonged 
to  him.  And  all  his  intercourse  was  marked  by  singular 
prudence  —  few  men  knew  better  than  he  how  to  say 
the  right  thing  at  the  right  time  —  and  no  doubt  this 
was  one  great  secret  of  his  so  rarely  giving  ofience, 
even  in  his  plainest  utterances.  Though  the  general 
habit  of  his  mind  was  grave,  it  was  not  gloomy  —  he 
enjoyed  cheerful  intercourse  in  a  high  degree,  and  would 
sometimes  relate  or  listen  to  a  humorous  anecdote  with 
a  marked  relish.  In  his  most  unrestrained  moments, 
he  never  forgot  that  he  was  a  minister  of  the  Gospel, 
and  was  set  to  watch  for  souls  as  one  that  must  give 
an  account. 

But  the  crawning  attribute  of  Dr.  McDowell's  char- 
acter was  his  fervent  and  active  piety.  Religion  with 
him  was  eminently  an  all  pervading  and  all  controlling 
principle,  giving  a  decided  complexion  to  his  convic- 
tions, his  feelings,  his  actions.  It  was  evident  to  all 
that  his  religious  life  was  sustained  by  intimate  com- 
munion with  God  —  it  was  in  the  uncommonly  spiritual 
atmosphere  in  which  he  lived  that  his  active  graces 


183 

gathered  such  strength  and  maturity  as  to  render  him 
a  model  labourer  in  the  Lord's  vineyard.  While  he 
had  no  sympathy  with  any  thing  like  fanaticism  or 
extravagance,  but  was  calm  and  intelligent  in  all  his 
religious  demonstrations,  there  was  a  simplicity,  a  ten- 
derness, an  irrepressible  earnestness,  in  whatever  he 
said  and  did,  that  made  it  manifest  to  every  one  that  he 
was  much  more  than  an  ordinary  Christian.  His  let- 
ters, of  which  a  very  large  number  have  been  pre- 
served, are  redolent  of  love  to  God,  and  love  to  man ; 
and  of  those  that  have  come  under  my  eye,  there  are 
comparatively  few  —  no  matter  what  may  have  been 
the  circumstances  in  which  they  were  written  —  in 
which  there  is  not  something  to  indicate  the  upward 
tendencies  of  his  spirit. 

With  such  qualities  of  mind  and  heart,  it  is  easy  to 
imagine  the  type  which  his  character  as  a  Preacher 
must  have  assumed.  His  sermons  were  logically  con- 
structed, and  brought  out  the  great  truths  of  the  Gos- 
pel in  the  most  simple  and  luminous  manner,  without 
pretension  or  studied  ornament.  And,  though  his 
manner  of  delivery  was  not  remarkable  for  what  are 
commonly  called  the  graces  of  elocution,  there  was  in 
it  a  fervour,  a  force,  that  made  it  well  nigh  irresistible. 
Though  the  great  evangelical  doctrines  formed  the  sta- 


184 

pie  of  bis  preaching,  he  was  accustomed  to  expound 
the  lessons  of  God's  providence,  as  they  came  out  in 
passing  events  ;  and  the  texts  which  he  selected  for 
such  occasions  were  almost  always  singularly  appro- 
priate. I  heard  him  preach  a  sermon  in  his  own  church 
(the  Central)  in  Philadelphia,  in  1837,  with  reference 
to  the  pecuniary  troubles  of  that  period  ;  and,  though 
it  contained  not  a  sentence  which  was  not  level 
almost  to  the  capacity  of  childhood,  it  was  full  of 
important  and  well-adapted  truth,  and  delivered  with 
such  manifest  sincerity  and  intense  earnestness,  that 
the  whole  audience  seemed  most  deeply  impressed.  It 
is  due  to  Dr.  McDowell  to  say  that  his  printed  ser- 
mons, excellent  as  they  are,  convey  but  a  very  inade- 
quate idea  of  the  real  power  of  his  preaching;  for  that 
indescribable  unction  of  manner,  already  alluded  to, 
hardly  left  it  at  any  one's  option  whether  or  not  to  be 
impressed  by  his  Aveighty  utterances. 

As  a  Pastor,  he  stood  in  the  very  foremost  rank  of 
excellent  ministers.  In  this  branch  of  duty  as  in 
every  other,  he  was  most  exact  and  uniform.  He 
visited  all  the  families  in  his  large  congregation, 
extending  several  miles  into  the  neighbouring  country, 
at  regular  intervals  ;  and  these  visits  were  strictly  of 
a  religious   character,  designed  to  give  greater  effect 


185 

to  his  public  ministrations.  He  was  careful  that  no 
one  belonging  to  his  pastoral  charge  should  be  over- 
looked,—  especially  that  those  in  the  humbler  walks 
of  life  should  have  their  due  share  of  attention.  He 
was  watchful  for  the  first  indications  of  religious 
thoughtfulness  in  any  of  his  people,  and  lost  no  time 
in  getting  access  to  them,  and  in  endeavouring  to  give 
the  right  direction  to  their  thoughts,  to  impress  them 
with  a  sense  of  their  danger,  and  enlighten  them  in 
respect  to  their  duty,  and  bring  them  to  a  compliance 
with  the  terms  of  the  Gospel.  He  was  most  faithful 
and  tender  in  tha  discharge  of  his  duties  to  the  sick 
and  the  sorrowful,  never  losing  an  opportunity  to  dis- 
pense consolation,  where  the  circumstances  would  ad- 
mit of  it,  or  to  enforce  the  solemn  and  monitory  les- 
sons of  Divine  Providence.  If  he  knew  that  any  of 
his  people  were  in  difficulty  of  any  kind,  he  was  sure 
to  find  his  way  to  them  as  a  counsellor,  provided  the 
case  came  within  the  scope  of  his  ability,  or  as  a  com- 
forter, if  his  sympathy  would  contribute  any  thing  to 
their  relief.  Indeed,  his  relation  to  his  congregation 
seemed  to  be  very  much  like  that  of  a  father  to  his 
family ;  and,  as  he  was  pre-eminently  a  centre  of  at- 
traction and  of  blessing  in  his  own  house,  so  he  moved 

about  with  a  sort  of  paternal  dignity  and  kindliness 
*16 


186 

among  his  whole  flock,  always  dispensing  to  them  the 
tokens  of  his  good  will,  and  receiving  from  them,  in 
turn,  the  expressions  of  an  almost  filial  regard. 

In  nothing  was  Dr.  McDowell  more  highly  distin- 
guished than  his  familiarity  with  ecclesiastical  pro- 
cedure. He  was  as  thoroughly  acquainted  with  every 
rule  pertaining  to  Church  order  and  discipline,  as  if 
that  particular  subject  had  been  the  main  study  of 
his  life.  In  all  ecclesiastical  bodies  his  judgment  was 
looked  upon  as  well  nigh  oracular.  In  addition  to  his 
great  knowledge,  he  had  a  remarkable  tact  and  facility 
at  applying  rules  and  principles,  which  made  him 
always  recognized  as  a  leading  spirit  in  every  Church 
Court. 

But  any  estimate  of  the  reasons  of  Dr.  McDowellJs 
extraordinary  usefulness  would  be  very  imperfect  that 
should  omit  a  distinct  recognition  of  the  providence 
and  grace  of  God.  The  Divine  providence  began  to 
manifest  itself  graciously  towards  him  in  the  circum- 
stances of  his  birth  and  early  education.  God  gave 
him  parents  who  were  eminently  pious ;  especially  a 
mother  who,  by  her  excellent  counsels  and  example 
and  earnest  prayers,  produced  a  spiritual  atmosphere 
around  him,  most  favourable  to  the  early  culture  of 
the  heart.     Then,  while  he  was  passing  through  Prince- 


187 

toD  College,  though  he  was  in  the  midst  of  a  hot  bed 
of  infidelity  and  profligacy,  and  had  not  even  the  safe- 
guard of  a  Christian  profession  to  protect  him,  he  was 
mercifully  preserved  from  falling  into  any  of  the  innu- 
merable snares  by  which  he  was  surrounded,  and  was 
carried  safely  and  triumphantly  through  that  fearful 
ordeal.  The  providence  of  God  was  remarkably  dis- 
played in  fixing  him  at  Elizabethtown  when  his  atten- 
tion had  already  been  directed  to  another  field,  which 
he  was  on  the  way  to  explore,  with  reference  to  occu- 
pying it.  And  not  only  at  Elizabethtown,  but  in  both 
his  charges  in  Philadelphia,  had  he  among  his  people 
many  good  men  and  true,  who  were  both  able  and 
faithful  coadjutors  with  him  in  carrying  out  the  great 
purposes  of  his  ministry  ; — men  in  whom  he  found  a 
tower  of  strength,  not  only  in  his  ordinary  work,  but 
in  the  various  extraordinary  enterprises  to  which  he 
had  occasion  to  address  himself.  He  was,  also, 
throughout  his  whole  ministry,  in  constant  intercourse 
with  some  of  the  best  clerical  society  which  the  coun- 
try afforded ;  was  always  within  immediate  range  of 
some  of  the  giants  of  his  day  ;  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  in  this  intercourse  he  found  an  invigorat- 
ing influence  to  both  his  faculties  and  affections, 
while  they  all  became  eflScient  fellow-helpers  in  prose- 


188 

cuting  their  Lord's  work.  And  to  crown  all,  no  min- 
istry perhaps  in  this  land  has  ever  been  attended  with 
richer  eiGfusions  of  God's  Holy  Spirit :  while  he  scarcely 
ever  knew  what  it  was  to  be  without  some  gracious 
manifestations  in  connection  with  his  labours,  he  was 
privileged,  during  a  large  part  of  the  time,  to  feel  that 
God,  in  very  deed,  was  working,  through  his  instru- 
mentality, for  the  salvation  of  souls.  He  was  a  noble 
specimen  of  a  minister  of  the  Gospel ;  but,  with  hu- 
mility and  thanksgiving,  he  ascribed  to  God  all  the 
glory. 


189 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Commemorative  Letters.* 

I. 

From  the  Rev.  R.  W.  Dickinson,  D.  D. 


"  Ridge  Lawn,"  Fordham 
March  28th,  1863 
Rev.  and  Dear  Sir  : 


HAM,  } 


I  have  recently  been  informed  that  you  intend  to 
prepare  a  Memoir  of  the  late  Dr.  John  McDowell  —  if 
so,  permit  me  to  state  that,  though  my  personal 
acquaintance  with  him  was  very  limited,  yet  I  can 
readily  understand  why  it  was  that  he  stood  so  high  in 
the  estimation  of  those  who  knew  him  best ;  and  how 
it  was  that,  through  the  whole  period  of  his  protracted 
ministry,  he  exerted  a  daily  influence  for  good  in  his 
several  relations  to  the  Church. 

I  heard  him  preach  but  twice.  The  first  time,  (and 
it  was  in  the  Old  Wall  Street  Church,  not  long  after 
the  death  of  the  lamented  Whelpley,)  though  I  was 
too  young  to  judge  of  the  merits  of  his  discourse,  I 
was  arrested  by  the  beauty  and  spiritual  significancy 
of  his  text :   "  Although  the  fig  tree  shall  not  blossom, 

*  These  letters  are  arranarcd  in  the  order  of  their  dates. 


190 

neither  shall  fruit  be  in  the  vines,  &c.,  yet  will  I  rejoice 
in  the  Lord,  I  will  joy  in  the  God  of  my  salvation." 

The  last  time  I  heard  him,  (and  it  was  in  the  same 
church  some  years  after  the  congregation  had  removed 
to  their  present  site  on  the  Fifth  Avenue,)  I  listened 
with  the  more  attention  as,  by  his  preliminary 
services,  I  found  myself  predisposed  to  anticipate 
spiritual  benefit  from  his  lips.  I  have  not  forgotten 
even  the  Psalm  which  he  read;  it  was  the  116th,  read 
in  a  manner  that  not  merely  interested  but  affected  me. 
It  may  be  because  it  was  peculiarly  expressive  of  my 
own  emotions  on  again  entering  the  House  of  God, 
after  having  been  prevented,  for  a  brief  time,  by  sick- 
ness. Allowance  may  always  be  made  for  our  own 
frame  of  mind  in  judging  of  any  one's  services  in  the 
pulpit.  But,  on  the  occasion  to  which  I  refer,  it  must 
have  been  evident  to  all  that  the  Doctor  had  appro- 
priated to  himself  the  sentiments  of  the  Psalm  which 
he  was  reading  with  so  much  devout  expression,  and 
when  he  uttered  the  16th  verse,  there  was  a  touching 
tenderness  in  his  tones  that  conveyed  to  my  mind  tiie 
resistless  conviction  that  he  felt,  and  deeply  too,  his 
inexpressible  obligations  to  Sovereign  Grace.  "  0 
Lord,  truly  I  am  thy  servant ;  I  am  thy  servant,  and 
the  son  of  thine  handmaid  :  thou  hast  loosed  my  bonds." 


191 

Nevertheless,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  Dr.  McDowell 
is  prominently  associated  in  my  mind  with  a  very  sim- 
ple circumstance.  It  was  at  the  close  of  the  first  or 
second  session  of  my  Seminary  course  at  Princeton 
that  he  was  announced  to  deliver  the  Annual  Address 
to  the  students.  Having  never  heard  an  Address  on 
such  an  occasion,  I,  with  other  members  of  my  class,  of 
course  anticipated  something  above  the  ordinary  range 
of  mind  —  something  that  possibly  might  surpass  the 
occasional  efforts  of  our  venerated  Professors  :  perhaps 
his  subject  would  be  "  Pulpit  Eloquence,"  illustrated 
by  reference  to  some  of  the  greatest  preachers,  or  "The 
Relation  of  the  Pulpit  to  Literature"  ;  perhaps  the 
"  Philosophy  of  Christianity,"  or  the  "  Relation  of 
Cause  and  effect," —  a  point  very  much  discussed  about 
that  time;  perhaps  the  "Importance  of  Creeds,"  in 
anticipated  refutation  of  the  late  Dr.  John  Duncan's 
questionable  utterances,  which,  at  the  time,  had  been 
repeated  with  approbation  by  certain  students. 

At  last  the  hour  arrived ;  the  Theological  Chamber 
was  thronged  ;  the  expectation  of  the  younger  students 
was  at  its  height !  Judge,  then,  of  my  feelings  when 
the  Doctor's  subject  proved  to  be  the  "  Importance  of 
Habits  of  Punctuality  to  a  Minister  of  the  Gospel." 
Punctuality !     So  great  was  my  disappointment  that  I 


192 

listened  with  impatience,  and  even  detected  in  my  con- 
sciousness a  something  not  remotely  allied  to  amaze- 
ment, that  a  distinguished  Doctor  of  Divinity  should, 
on  such  an  occasion,  deal  only  in  what  then  seemed  to 
me  the  veriest  commonplaces. 

But  how  often  have  I  since  been  constrained  to  make 
amends  for  my  virtual  disparagement  of  a  subject, 
which,  however  trite,  has,  in  its  relations  to  the  Minis- 
try, many  a  lesson  of  practical  wisdom ;  a  subject  which 
no  one,  perhaps,  would  have  selected  under  the  circum- 
stances, who  had  not  lost  sight  of  self  in  his  single  de- 
sire to  incite  his  youthful  auditors  to  the  formation  of 
habits  so  essential  to  their  appropriate  and  increasing 
influence  as  Ministers  of  the  Word. 

What  effect  the  Doctor's  Address  may  after  all  have 
had  in  leading  me  to  appreciate  the  virtue  of  punctu- 
ality, I  may  not  decide ;  but  it  is  not  unlikely  that,  if 
a  number  whom  I  might  mention  had  heard  the  Address, 
I  might,  under  various  circumstances,  have  been  spared 
the  loss  of  much  precious  time,  and  sometimes  the  tor- 
ture of  suspense  at  the  church  door,  lest  I  should  be 
obliged  to  enter  the  pulpit  without  a  sermon  either  in 
my  pocket  or  my  head. 

But  enough :  I  love  to  contemplate  the  character  of 
a  man,  who,  through  a  long  life  has  borne  himself  well 


193 

— made  full  proof  of  his  ministry,  as  well  as  "  kept  the 
faith  ;"  and  I  trust  that  you,  my  dear  Sir,  may  be 
spared  to  finish  the  work  which  you  have  so  kindly 
consented  to  undertake ;  and  that  you  will  be  abund- 
antly rewarded  for  all  your  labours  of  love. 
With  every  sentiment  of  fraterjial  esteem, 

I  remain  yours, 

R.  W.  DICKINSON. 


II. 

From  the  Rev.  William  S.  Plumeh,  D.  D. 

Philadelphia,  May  6,  1863. 
My  Dear  Brother  : 

I  fully  concur  in  the  desire  of  many  to  see  a  memoir 
of  the  late  excellent  Dr.  John  McDowell.  Well  pre- 
pared, it  will  be  full  of  instruction.  I  am  heartily 
glad  that  you  are  to  be  his  biographer. 

I  do  not  think  you  will  have  a  very  easy  task.     Dr. 

McDowell  had  been  eminently  useful  before  the  great 

mass  of  those  now  filling  our  pulpits  were  in  Christ. 

For  years  before  his  death,  he  seldom  saw  one  whom 

he  had  known  as  a  Preacher  until  after  he  himself  had 

become  an  experienced  Pastor. 
17 


194 

To  one  class  of  persons  the  memoir  will  probably  be 
very  useful — viz.  :  to  young  ministers  of  the  Gospel. 
When  an  ordinary  young  man  contemplates  the  wonders 
achieved  by  the  amazing  eloquence  and  genius  of  White- 
field,  Spencer,  Hall  or  Chalmers,  he  says, — ^"  Such  attain- 
ments are  so  high  that  I  can  never  reach  them.  It  is 
presumption  to  think  of  it."  But  when  he  shall  see  Dr. 
McDowell,  remarkable  chiefly  for  common  sense,  piety 
and  singleness  of  purpose,  bringing  many  hundreds  of 
souls  into  the  Church,  and  greatly  edifying  God's  people, 
he  will  say, — "By  God's  blessing,  I,  too,  may  be  dis- 
tinguished for  my  services  in  the  Master's  cause." 

I  also  think  your  work,  as  a  biographer,  will  be 
pleasant.  You  will  trace  the  wonderful  course  of  Provi- 
dence towards  a  pious  youth  seeking  the  ministry.  You 
will  see  how  the  young  Pastor  was  led,  by  the  good 
and  free  Spirit  of  God,  through  trials  and  difficulties 
to  enlarged,  usefulness.  The  field  of  his  labours  almost 
invariably  became  a  green  spot  in  the  garden  of  God. 
When  the  late  learned  and  pious  Dr.  RufFner  was  a 
young  man,  he  travelled  from  Virginia  to  the  North. 
Stopping  at  Elizabethtown,  N.  J.,  he  was  invited  to 
preach  the  weekly  lecture  to  Dr.  McDowell's  people. 
There  was  a  good  audience,  and  Mr.  Ruffner  preached 
to  the  unconverted.     After  service  he  was  delighted  to 


195 

hear  that  there  were  but  one  or  two  persons  present 
who  were  not  members  of  the  church,  although  he  was 
mortified  at  his  own  sad  mistake. 

I  have  been  acquainted  with  Dr.  McDowell  since 
1826.  I  have  often  served  with  him  in  bodies  con- 
vened for  ecclesiastical  and  benevolent  objects.  I  have 
often  spent  an  hour  or  two  with  him,  though  we  never 
were  intimate.  Still  I  have  definite  ideas  of  the  secrets 
of  his  success.  I  say  secrets,  because  there  were  sev- 
eral things  of  importance  that  made  him  what  he  was. 

1.  I  think  he  set  the  Lord  always  before  him.  God's 
will  was  his  law.  God's  honour  was  his  aim.  He  sub- 
ordinated every  thing  to  religion. 

2.  Jesus  Christ  was  precious  to  him.  His  preaching 
and  his  thinking  were  evangelical.  Tradition  says  this 
was  so  when  he  was  a  young  man.  I  know  it  was  so 
later  in  life.  A  brother  who  loved  and  honoured  Dr. 
McDowell,  suggests  that  an  examination  of  his  manu- 
scripts would  show  that,  to  an  unusual  degree,  his  ser- 
mons would  be  found  clearly  to  explain  the  way  of 
salvation. 

3.  Dr.  McDowell  never  faltered  in  his  belief  of  the 
plenary  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures.  If  he  was  sure 
that  the  Bible  taught  any  thing,  he  doubted  no  more. 
He  was  fully  persuaded  that  God's  Word  was  a  fire 


196 

and  a  hammer.  He  never  rested  his  own  conclusions 
on  human  wit,  or  speculation,  when  he  could  lay  hold 
of  God's  testimony.  "  What  is  the  chaff  to  the 
wheat  ?" 

4.  Dr.  McDowell  was  a  practical  man.  His  was  no 
dreamy  existence.  He  lost  no  time  in  forming  or  in 
attempting  to  execute  impracticable  schemes. 

5.  He  was  industrious.  He  was  always  at  work.  He 
was  a  fisher  of  men  ;  and  if  he  was  not  making  a 
draught  of  fishes,  he  w^as  mending  his  nets.  In  the 
hot  weather  of  1835,  I  spent  some  weeks  in  this  city. 
Whenever  I  called  on  him,  I  found  him  industriously  en- 
gaged in  writing  sermons,  just  as  if  he  had  but  recently 
begun  to  preach. 

6.  Dr.  McDowell  was  benevolent.  He  carried  no 
grudges.  He  w^as  kind  to  all.  He  wept  with  those 
who  wept.  If  any  survivor  reproaches  himself  for  any 
ill  treatment  of  Dr.  McDowell,  it  is  quite  certain  Dr. 
McDowell  carried  not  to  his  grave  the  memory  of  his 
wrong.  I  doubt  not  he  would  have  said,  with  one  of 
my  correspondents  now  passed  away  from  earth,  "  I 
would  not  give  one  hour  of  brotherly  love  for  a  whole 
eternity  of  contention."     He  Avas  a  man  of  peace. 

7.  He  always  did  his  best.  He  never  intentionally 
slighted  any  part  of  his  calling. 


197 

8.  I  leave  quite  to  others  to  give  you  the  materials 
for  speaking  of  the  afflictions  of  his  life.  But  his  trials 
were  great.  He  sometimes  spoke  of  them  to  me,  but 
always  with  a  cheerful  acquiescence  in  the  will  of  God. 

I  shall  be  pleased  if  this  letter  shall  encourage  you 
in  your  work. 

Very  respectfully  and  affectionately  yours, 

WILLIAM  S,  PLUMER. 


TIL 

From  Mrs.  Mary  Ann  F.  Chester.* 

Elizabeth,  May  8,  1863. 
Dear  Sir: 

In  compliance  with  your  request  for  facts  connected 
with  the  ministry  of  the  late  Dr.  J.  McDowell,  I  reply 
that  nothing  could  be  more  in  accordance  with  my 
feelings  than  to  bear  testimony  in  favour  of  one  for 
whom  I  have  alwaj^s  entertained  the  warmest  love  and 
veneration.  My  earliest  recollections  of  religious  in- 
struction are  associated  with  his  ministry.  His  faith- 
ful warnings  from  the  pulpit,  his  biblical  and  catecheti- 
cal instruction,  have  so  embalmed  his  memory  in  the 
hearts  of  those  who  were  favoured  with  them,    that 


*  Wife  of  the  Rev.  Alfred  Chester. 
*17 


198 

their  influence  will  be  felt  long  after  Pastor  and  people 
have  gone  to  their  Heavenly  reward. 

Dr.  McDowell,  in  a  remarkable  degree,  secured  the 
confidence  and  affection  of  his  young  people,  and  it  was 
done  by  his  attractive  manner  of  communicating  reli- 
gious instruction. 

His  Bible  Classes,  in  which  the  recitation  of  the 
Larger  and  Shorter  Catechism  formed  a  part  of  the 
exercises,  were  fully  attended.  Between  one  and  two 
Jiundred  usually  composed  the  class.  He  took  a  deep 
interest  in  the  education  of  the  young,  and  was  in  the 
habit  of  visiting  weekly,  and  giving  Bible  instruction 
in  a  large  and  flourishing  Female  Seminary,  (under 
the  care  of  Miss  Gorham.)  His  plan  was  to  give  five 
chapters  to  the  school,  which  were  read  and  studied  by 
the  pupils  during  the  week,  but  more  particularly  in- 
tended as  a  Sunday  lesson  before  Sunday  Schools  were 
•established.  On  Monday  morning  the  class  recited, 
■answering  such  questions  as  the  Pastor  then  proposed. 
The  teacher  of  the  Seminary  suggested  that  Dr.  Mc- 
Dowell should  write  questions  upon  the  lesson,  and 
hand  them  weekly  to  the  scholars,  which  they  copied 
for  their  own  use.  This  plan  was  pursued  for  some 
time,  when  the  teacher  proposed  that  they  should  be 
printed,  which  was  done,  and  this  is  the  origin  of  "  Mc- 


199 

Powell's  Bible  Questions,"  so  far  famed  and  extensively 
used  throughout  the  country — the  first  Bible  Questions 
printed,  which  were  afterwards  generally  used  in  Sun- 
day Schools  and  Bible  Classes.  He  took  a  deep  inte- 
rest in  Sunday  Schools,  which  were  established  in  this 
place  in  1814;  visiting  them  and  encouraging  the 
teachers  by  his  presence  and  counsel. 

When  Dr.  McDowell  came  to  Elizabethtown,  the  con- 
gregation were  in  a  distracted  and  somewhat  divided 
state.  Some  of  the  aged  members  of  the  church  were 
praying  in  secret  that  a  suitable  Pastor  might  be  sent 
th^m,  who  would  unite  the  people  and  repair  the  deso- 
lations of  Zion.  A  pious  female,  a  mother  in  Israel, 
whose  heart  was  heavily  burdened  on  account  of  the 
state  of  the  church,  and  its  spiritual  wants,  and  who, 
in  concert  with  others,  had  been  praying  that  a  suita- 
ble Pastor  might  be  sent  them,  dreamed  that  she  saw 
the  one  God  had  determined  as  their  spiritual  guide, 
coming  into  the  town  on  horseback.  This  dream  she 
related  to  one  of  the  praying  circle,  and,  a  few  days 
after,  when  young  McDowell  passed  her  window  on  his 
way  to  one  of  the  elders  of  the  church,  to  announce 
himself  to  him  as  a  minister  ready  to  preach  on  the 
next  Sabbath,  if  needed,  the  old  lady,  seeing  him,  ex- 
claimed, "  There  goes  our  minister  !  there  goes  the  one 


200 

I  saw  in  my  dream !  he  is  not  on  horseback,  but  that 
is  the  form  impressed  on  my  mind." 

The  young  clergyman  had  come  into  the  place  on 
horseback,  and,  stopping  at  a  hotel,  was  directed  by  the 
keeper  to  this  elder.  I  mention  this  not  as  a  believer 
in  dreams  and  visions,  but  as  an  interesting  fact  in 
connection  with  the  arrival  of  the  young  preacher,  and 
as  "  The  Secret  of  the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear 
Him,"  this  godly  woman  may  have  been  favoured  with 
a  sight  of  him  who  was  to  be  her  spiritual  counsellor 
and  guide. 

The  good  effects  of  Dr.  McDowell's  ministry  are  still 
felt  here ;  the  seed  he  sowed  is  yet  yielding  its  fruits ; 
and  generations  will  have  passed  away  ere  his  name 
will  be  forgotten,  or  the  sweet  savour  of  his  influence 
lost  among  us.         I  am  respectfully  yours, 

MARY  ANN  F.  CHESTER. 


IV. 

From  the  Rev.  Joseph  Holdich,  D.  D. 

New  York  May,  19,   1863. 
My  Dear  Sir  : 

To  write  my  personal  recollections,  which  you  have 

asked  of  me,  of  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  John  McDowell,  is  not 

an  unpleasing  task.     Having  lived  in  intimate  relations 


201 

with  him,  and  having  had  the  best  opportunities,  I 
knew  him  well,  and  knew  him  only  to  revere  and  love 
him. 

The  basis  of  Dr.  McDowell's  character  was  integrity. 
From  this,  as  the  central  point,  all  his  other  virtues 
radiated.  He  was  a  man  pre-eminently  honest  of  pur- 
pose. He  carried  this  principle  throughout.  He 
was  honest  to  himself,  to  his  fellow  beings,  and  to  his 
God.  This  seems  to  have  arisen,  partly  from  a  happy 
and  well  balanced  mental  and  moral  constitution,  but 
it  owed  its  completeness  to  the  grace  of  God,  sancti- 
fying a  faithful  Christian  education,  and  the  diligent 
inculcation  of  Divine  truth  upon  his  mind,  by  a  faith- 
ful and  affectionate,  as  well  as  wise  and  prudent, 
Christian  mother. 

Dr.  McDowell  was  eminently  honest  with  himself. 
He  knew  what  he  could,  and  what  he  could  not  do. 
He  knew  the  limitations  of  his  own  faculties.  With- 
out aiming  to  be  the  mere  scholar,  or  the  man  of  taste, 
or  the  popular  orator,  or  eloquent  declaimer,  he  addict- 
ed himself  to  that  which  suited  his  bent  of  mind,  and 
became  the  man  of  eminently  practical  usefulness  in 
the  church  and  in  society.  This  appeared  remarkably 
in  his  ministry  at  Elizabethtown,  where  I  first  became 
acquainted  with  him.     On  his  removal  to  Philadelphia, 


202 

when  I  once  mentioned  bis  frequent  invitations  to 
address  popular  meetings,  anniversaries,  and  the  like, 
he  said,  —  "Yes,  but  it  is  because  I  am  a  new  man. 
After  a  while,  they  will  find  out  that  that  is  not  my 
sphere,  and  then  they  will  let  me  alone." 

The  resolution  to  change  his  field  of  labour  from 
Elizabethtown  to  Philadelphia  was  probably  formed 
at  my  house.  While  the  Doctor  was  on  a  visit  to  me, 
while  Pastor  of  the  Union  Church  in  Fourth  Street, 
he  preached  on  the  Sabbath  for  the  incipient  Central 
Church,  the  result  of  which  was  an  immediate  call  to 
the  Pastorate  of  that  church.  In  accepting  this  call, 
he  was  not  moved  by  any  secular  or  unworthy  motives. 
He  gained  nothing  by  it  in  a  worldly  point  of  view, 
either  as  to  salary,  reputation  or  position.  He  believed 
that  he  would  be  more  useful  by  a  change  in  his  field 
of  labour.  He  remarked,  too,  that  his  advancing  years 
disqualified  him  for  the  laborious  round  of  duties, 
which  his  people  in  Elizabethtown  had  been  used  to, 
and  would  still  expect,  and  that  it  would  be  easier  and 
better  for  him  to  adjust  his  duties  to  his  strength,  in  a 
new  place.  Certainly,  in  his  former  field,  the  size  of 
his  parish,  his  rural  preaching,  his  pastoral  visitations, 
his  visiting  the  sick  and  afilicted,  his  burials  of  the 
dead,  besides  the    constant  calls  upon  him  for  public 


203 

labour,  in  various  ways,  made  up  a  load  of  duty,  that 
none  but  the  most  vigorous  frame  could  long  endure. 

In  Dr.  McDowell  piety  did  not  lie  on  the  surface  so 
much  as  it  does  in  some  men.  It  was  inwrought  and 
deep,  showing  itself  in  settled  principles  and  in  Chris- 
tian views,  conduct  and  tempers,  rather  than  in  much 
talk  or  outward  manifestation.  He  was  not  a  man 
of  many  words,  not  given  to  take  the  lead  in  conversa- 
tion so  much  as  to  sustain  it  by  judicious  thoughts  and 
appropriate  remarks  and  suggestions.  His  conversa- 
tion was  always  judicious  and  wise,  never  brilliant  and 
sparkling,  but  marked  with  comprehensive  and  preg- 
nant sentences.  He  was  eminently  a  safe  counsellor. 
None  resorted  to  him  merely  for  entertainment,  very 
many  for  instruction  and  counsel,  especially  in  delicate 
and  difficult  affairs. 

I  have  said  that  integrity  was  the  basis  of  Dr.  Mc- 
Dowell's character.  This  was  seen  in  his  estimate  of 
others,  in  his  judgment  and  interpretation  of  their 
conduct.  He  was  singularly  just,  "  rendering  to  all 
their  dues,"  in  property,  reputation,  and  all  other 
claims.  He  desired  every  man  to  enjoy  what  rightly 
belonged  to  him,  even  though  it  came  in  conflict  with 
his  own  interests.  Of  this  I  remember  a  pertinent 
illustration.      A  gentleman    whom  he  regarded    as  a 


204 

friend,  learned  that  a  piece  of  property  whicli  the  Doc- 
tor desired  to  sell  would  soon  be  in  demand  at  an 
enhanced  price,  and,  concealing  his  knowledge,  he  went 
and  bought  it  at  a  price  much  below  what  it  was  worth 
shortly  after.  When,  after  the  facts  became  known, 
some  one  spoke  of  the  transaction  as  dishonourable 
and  unjust,  the  Doctor  checked  the  speaker,  saying, 
"Not  so,  it  was  not  dishonourable  nor  unjust — it  was  a 
lair  business  transaction ;  but  I  must  say  it  was  what 
a  true  friend  would  not  have  done." 

Dr.  McDowell's  integrity  had  its  foundation  in  reli- 
gion. It  sprang  from  a  sense  of  his  obligations  to 
God  —  hence  it  was  radical  and  consistent,  not  partial 
and  uneven,  not  fitful  and  uncertain,  nor  subject  to 
circumstances  or  caprice.  His  steady  aim  was  to  do 
right  towards  both  God  and  man.  It  was  this  constant 
sense  of  moral  obligation  that  led  him  so  constantly  to 
acknowledge  and  honour  his  Maker  before  the  people 
in  all  public  events,  in  great  calamities,  in  general 
blessings  and  in  open,  daring  crimes.  In  all  such 
events  the  people  expected  to  hear  their  Pastor's 
uplifted  voice,  calling  upon  God,  and  directing  his 
people  to  the  Great  Ruler  of  the  world.  He  always 
honoured  God,  and  so  God  honoured  his  servant  in  the 
eyes  of  the  people,  1  Sam.,  II.  30. 


I 


205 

Nothing  tries  integrity,  even  religious  integrity, 
more  than  the  spirit  of  party  or  sect.  Many  a  man 
who  would  despise  duplicity  or  injustice  for  himself, 
is  guilty  of  them  for  the  supposed  advancement  of  his 
sect.  They  are  not  aware  that  they  are  unjust,  but 
they  cannot  look  at  things  in  their  true  light,  through 
party  spectacles.  In  spite  of  themselves  objects  ap- 
pear in  distorted  shapes  or  false  colours.  In  this  Dr. 
McDowell  showed  his  prominent  characteristic. 

Every  one  knew  that  the  Doctor  was  a  decided  Pres- 
byterian. He  certainly  thought  Presbyterianism  a  lit- 
tle, perhaps  a  good  deal,  better  than  any  thing  else; 
yet  he  could  not  be  called  bigoted.  He  saw  good  in 
others,  and  he  confessed  it  too.  He  was  candid  as 
well  as  just.  A  little  incident  I  may  introduce,  serv- 
ing to  show  the  spirit  of  justice  rising  above  partyism. 
A  near  friend  of  his  was  sought  in  marriage  by  a  gen- 
tleman of  a  different  denomination.  Some  of  the  friends 
were  opposed  to  it  on  this  ground.  The  lady  was  ad- 
vised, by  a  particular  friend,  a  member  also  of  Dr. 
McDowell's  church,  to  ask  his  assistance  to  overcome 
the  objections, — advice  which  seemed  preposterous  to 
one  who  knew  the  Doctor  only  as  a  decided  Presbyte- 
rian. "Yes,"  was  the  reply,  "but  he  is  just  and  can- 
did. He  sees  things  in  their  true  light,  and  is  not 
18 


206 

biased  by  party  and  prejudiced  views,  and  he  is  the 
very  one  to  obviate  your  difficulties."  This  friend  saw 
into  her  Pastor's  real  character,  and  the  end  justified 
her  estimation  of  him.  He  undertook  the  task  and 
succeeded. 

I  was  myself  a  witness  of  an  incident  illustrating  the 
same  trait  of  character.  While  stationed  at  Elizabeth- 
town,  during  a  period  of  considerable  religious  inte- 
rest, a  young  person,  a  member  of  Dr.  McDowelPs  con- 
gregation but  not  of  the  church,  was  awakened  at  the 
Methodist  Church,  and  was  in  an  interesting  state  of 
religious  feeling.  I  told  the  Doctor  that  one  of  his 
lambs  seemed  disposed  to  come  into  our  fold.  "  Yery 
well,"  he  said,  "  if  the  pasture  suits  her  better  it  is  all 
right,  but  she  ought  to  consider  it  well.  I  will  see 
her."  He  did  see  her,  and  his  influence  was  too  strong 
for  me.  She  staid  where  she  was.  Others,  however, 
left  his  church  and  joined  ours,  but  without  any  breach 
of  friendship  or  interruption  of  good  feeling.  These 
incidents  show  how  clergymen  of  different  denomina- 
tions, equally  decided  in  their  preferences,  may  act 
honourably  and  justly  towards  each  other,  and  live  in 
harmony,  notwithstanding  denominational  differences. 

Dr.  McDowell  was  remarkable  for  punctuality.  It 
was  a  rule  with  him,  prompted  by  consideration  and  a 


207 

eense  of  justice,  never  to  keep  one  waiting,  and  this 
applied  to  all  occasioraS,  public,  social  and  domestic. 
I  remember  well  an  incident  which  called  out  his  ex- 
pression on  this  subject.  While  staying  at  his  house 
I  was  one  day  late  at  dinner.  After  taking  our  seats 
at  the  table,  he  remarked  very  pleasantly, — "You  were 
rather  late  to  day."  Without  thinking,  for  the  moment, 
of  his  particularity,  I  remarked, — "Yes,  I  was  unexpect- 
edly detained  by  some  friends."  But,  observing  a 
look  of  inquiry  as  if  expecting  a  better  reason,  I  al- 
leged something  else  equally  unsatisfactory.  But,  ob- 
serving the  same  expression,  I  added  what  was  really 
the  fact, — "besides,  I  find  my  watch  did  not  agree 
with  your  clock.  I  thought  I  was  in  time."  "  Yes," 
he  replied,  "  that  will  do."  He  could  not  accept  the 
others  as  adequate  apologies,  but  the  last  met  the  case. 
But  it  was  all  very  courteous  and  pleasant,  not  in  the 
least  brusque  or  disagreeable. 

It  is  not  my  place  nor  purpose  to  describe  Dr.  Mc- 
Dowell's preaching.  That  will  be  done  more  appro- 
priately by  a  more  able  hand.  I  simply  remark  that 
its  excellences  were  most  highly  appreciated  by  the 
pious,  especially  those  of  most  staid  and  solid  charac- 
ter. To  such  his  preaching  was  a  treat.  A  somewhat 
singular  testimony  to  this  was  borne  on  a  certain  occa- 


208 

sion  while  on  a  visit  to  my  house.  On  the  Sabbath  he 
preached  for  a  brother  clergyman,  who  was  in  the 
habit  of  delivering  very  able  and  scholarly  discourses, 
but  not  so  highly  impregnated  with  the  life  and  spirit 
of  the  gospel  as  some.  In  the  course  of  the  week,  a 
member  of  the  church,  speaking  in  high  terms  of  the 
services  of  the  previous  Sabbath,  added  with  uncom- 
mon naiveie,  "Ah!  we  don't  have  such  preaching 
every  day." 

Elizabethtown  was  the  residence  of  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Morrell,  a  venerable  and  excellent  minister  ot  the  Meth- 
odist Church,  of  whom  the  Rev.  Dr.  Murray  furnished 
a  vivid  sketch  in  your  Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit. 
I  frequently  heard  Mr.  Morrell  speak  in  the  warmest 
terms  of  his  Presbyterian  brother,  and  of  the  pleasant 
intercourse  they  always  maintained.  He  gave  an  ac- 
count of  a  most  impressive  interview  which  took  place 
at  his  own  house,  between  Dr.  McDowell,  while  yet  a 
young  man,  and  Bishop  Asbury.  Mr.  Morrell  having 
given  some  account  of  the  useful  labours  and  devoted 
piety  of  the  good  Pastor,  the  Bishop,  who  was  always 
ready  to  appreciate  zeal  and  piety  wherever  found, 
expressed  a  desire  to  see  him.  Accordingly  he  was. 
invited  to  meet  the  venerable  man,  when  they  spent 
some  time  in  solemn  and  profitable  conversation.     As 


209 

the  youthful  Pastor  was  about  to  take  his  leave,  the 
venerable  Bishop  rose  at  the  same  time,  and,  placing 
his  hands  upon  his  head,  pronounced  upon  him  the 
Apostolic  Benediction.  It  was  an  impressive  moment 
that  Mr.  Morrell  said  they  all  felt  deeply.  Dr.  Mc- 
Dowell, in  relating  the  incident  to  me,  many  years 
after,  said  he  never  felt  so  solemn  in  all  his  life.  It 
was  like  a  new  consecration  to  his  sacred  office.  "  The 
good  Bishop's  blessing,"  he  said,  "  seemed  to  rest  upon 
me  a  long  time  afterwards." 

Such,  my  dear  Sir,  are  my  principal  personal  recol- 
lections of  Dr.  John  McDowell  that  I  suppose  adapted 
to  your  purpose.  I  shall  be  happy  to  have  contributed 
any  thing,  however  small,  towards  exhibiting  the  char- 
acter of  so  excellent  a  man,  and  so  worthy  a  servant 
of  our  common  Master. 

Very  respectfully  your  servant  in  the  Gospel, 

'  JOSEPH  HOLDICH. 

Y. 

From  Mrs.  M.  T.  Hall.* 

Cleveland,  July  20,  1863. 
Dear  Sir  : 

Your  letter,  asking  for  some  reminiscences  of  the  late 

Dr.   John  McDowell,  was  received  a  few   days  since. 

•Wife  of  William  Hall,  Esq.  *18 


210 

Happy  indeed  should  I  be  could  I  contribute  anything 
of  interest  to  the  memoir  of  the  beloved  Pastor  of  my 
youth,  whose  memory  is  very  precious  to  me. 

I  can  only  render  my  testimony  to  the  warmth  of  his 
zeal,  his  earnestness  and  faithfulness  as  a  Preacher, 
his  generous  sympathy  with  all  who  were  in  sorrow,  and 
his  untiring  devotion  to  the  best  interests  of  every 
member  of  his  flock  ;  and  I  may  add,  to  the  love  and 
veneration  with  which  his  whole  congregation  regarded 
him.  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  secret  of  his  unusual 
success  in  the  ministry  was  the  unwearied  pains  he 
took  to  indoctrinate  his  people, — teaching  them  in  "  all 
knowledge  and  understanding,"  striving  to  establish 
them  in  the  great  truths  of  the  Gospel. 

An  interesting  fact,  showing  the  blessed  effects  of 
such  teaching,  now  occurs  to  me.  After  a  powerful 
revival,  in  the  early  part  of  his  ministry,  he  instituted 
a  Bible,  or  rather  a  Catechetical  Class,  taking  the 
Westminister  Catecliism  for  his  text-book,  and  lectur- 
ing on  every  question.  Seventy  young  persons  attend- 
ed, one  half  of  whom  made  no  pretensions  to  any  thing 
like  piety.  In  a  revival  that  took  place  five  years 
after,  every  one  of  these  persons,  we  had  reason  to 
believe,  was  the  subject  of  a  genuine  conversion.  This 
shows  the  great  importance  of  systematic  doctrinal  in- 


211 

struction,  and  well  illustrates  the  absurdity  of  the 
notion  that  the  truths  of  religion  should  not  be  lodged 
in  the  minds  of  the  young,  before  they  can  fully  com- 
prehend them.  This  class,  of  which  I  have  spoken 
was  continued,  without  intermission,  during  his  pasto- 
rate at  Elizabethtown — when  one  class  of  scholars 
left,  others  came  in  to  supply  their  places ;  and,  after 
going  through  the  Catechism,  he  took  up  a  course  of 
Ecclesiastical  History. 

An  instance  of  remarkabl'e  Christian  courage  and 
fidelity  in  so  young  a  man  was  manifested  soon  after  his 
settlement.  The  ministers  of  that  church  had  been 
accustomed  to  baptize  indiscriminately  the  children 
of  those  who  we?'e  not  professing  Christians.  But  in 
this  Dr.  McDowell  could  not  conscientiously  follow 
the  example  of  his  predecessors.  His  refusal  to  do  so 
caused  great  dissatisfaction,  especially  among  the  most 
prominent  and  infliiential  members  of  the  congrega- 
tion ;  yet  he  remained  firm  to  his  convictions,  and  im- 
mediately distributed  several  copies  of  the  Confession 
of  Faith,  proving  to  them  that  this  practice  was  con- 
trary to  the  creed  and  rules  of  their  Church. 

I  fear,  my  dear  Sir,  you  will  be  disappointed  that  I 
can  furnish  nothing  that  is  more  to  your  purpose.  I 
have,  indeed,   a  vivid  remembrance   of  this  excellent 


212 

man  —  for  even  the  lapse  of  fifty  years  cannot  obliter- 
ate from  onr  hearts  and  memories  the  obligations  we 
owe  to  those  guides  and  teachers,  who  have  been  in- 
strumental of  forming  our  characters,  and  leading  us 
in  the  paths  of  truth  and  virtue ;  but  my  recollections, 
at  this  late  period,  are  rather  general  than  particular. 
The  last  letter  I  received  from  him  was  in  1861, 
which  I  prize  as  a  precious  memorial  of  a  faithful  ser- 
vant of  Christ,  who  has  closed  his  labours  on  earth, 
and  gone  to  receive  his  reward. 

Respectfully  yours, 

M.  T.  HALL. 


VL 

From  the  Rev.  David  Magie,  D.  D. 

Elizabeth,  JYovember  7,  1863. 
My  Dear  Sir  : 

You  ask  me  for  my  impressions  of  the  character  of 

Dr.  John  McDowell,  with  some  incidents  in  his  life,  and 

I  cheerfully  comply  with  the  request.     I  owe  this  both 

to  him  and  to  you — to  him  for  what  he  was  to  me,  to 

you    for  your  labour  of  love  in  thus   embalming  the 

name  of  an  honoured  Minister  of  the  Gospel.     Right 

glad  am  I  that  the  work  of  preparing  his  memoir  has 

fallen  into  your  hands,  and  my  earnest  prayer  is  that 

it  may  prove  a  rich  and  a  widely  extended  blessing. 


213 

Dr.  McDowell  was  my  Pastor  for  fifteen  of  the  most 
impressible  years  of  my  life,  and  after  that  we  laboured 
in  intermingled  parishes  for  upwards  of  twelve  years 
more.  During  the  latter  period  especially,  I  saw  him 
almost  daily,  and  had  the  best  possible  opportunity  for 
observing  his  spirit  and  witnessing  his  manner  of  life, 
both  as  a  man  and  a  minister.  Still  I  find  a  difficulty 
in  meeting  your  request,  not  so  much  because  my  im- 
pressions of  his  character  are  indistinct,  as  from  the 
want  of  a  knowledge  of  those  striking  incidents  which 
would  help  to  impart  zest  and  fairness  to  the  sketch 
you  are  preparing.  The  fact  is,  his  life  was  not  made 
up  of  what  are  termed  striking  incidents.  In  this  re- 
spect many  men  of  not  half  his  real  personal  worth,  or 
a  tithe  of  his  usefulness  to  the  Church  of  God,  could 
supply  more  material  for  a  memoir. 

There  was  very  little  about  this  good  man  to  excite 
wonder,  or  lead  the  multitude  to  say,  lo,  here  !  or  lo, 
there  !  Year  in  and  year  out,  it  was  but  the  earnest 
preacher  filling  his  pulpit,  the  faithful  shepherd  feed- 
ing his  flock,  the  alert  watchman  taking  the  oversight 
of  souls,  the  energetic  minister  serving  his  congrega- 
tion by  the  will  of  God.  If  he  gained  distinction,  it 
was  not  by  saying  and  doing  queer  things,  but  good 
things.     Though  a  very  cheerful,  genial  man,  drawing 


214 

his  friends  closely  around  bim,^  and  binding  tbem  to 
him  by  ties  not  easily  broken,  his  influence  depended 
very  little  upon  witty  remarks,  or  mirth-inspiring  anec- 
dotes. But  for  the  interest  imparted  to  particular 
seasons  by  special  visits  of  Divine  mercy,  his  course 
was  as  even  and  uninterrupted  as  can  well  be  imagined. 
Had  there  been  more  of  the  wild  dashing  stream,  now 
almost  dry,  and  again  breaking  over  its  banks,  and  less 
of  the  steady,  quiet  river,  it  would  have  been  easier  to 
write  his  biography. 

His  industry  was  remarkable,  leading  him  to  fill  up 
his  whole  time  with  something  useful,  and  prompt- 
ing him  to  work,  as  it  would  seem,  for  the  very 
love  of  work  itself.  How  he  ever  got  through  the 
labour  of  his  large  charge  at  Elizabethtown,  preaching 
so  many  sermons,  attending  so  many  evening  meetings, 
making  so  many  family  visits,  hearing  so  many  Bible  and 
Catechetical  Classes,  spending  so  many  hours  with  the 
sick  and  dying,  and  attending  so  many  funerals — to 
say  nothing  of  Committees,  Boards,  and  Church  Judi- 
catories— was  always  a  puzzle  to  me,  and  is  so  yet.  It 
can  only  be  explained  by  saying  he  allowed  himself  no 
idle  hours.  Seldom  did  he  leave  home  except  on  pub- 
lic business,  no  matter  what  the  heat  or  the  unhealthi- 
ness  of  the  season.     No  prominent  name  was  seen  reg- 


215 

istered  less  frequently  at  the  sea-shore,  or  the  spring- 
side,  or  the  mountain-top.  While  he  uttered  no  harsh 
censures  on  his  brother  ministers  for  taking  annual 
holidays,  he  was  always  at  home,  and  ready  to  listen  to 
the  cry  of  sorrow,  come  from  what  quarter  it  might. 
The  care  of  an  invalid  daughter  mayhave  had  something 
to  do  in  fixing  this  habit,  but  with  him  it  certainly  be- 
came a  second  nature.  His  people  were  always  on  his 
mind,  and  he  could  not  bear  the  thought  of  being  out 
of  the  way  when  his  presence  was  needed. 

There  was,  too,  an  intrepidity  in  him  quite  above  what 
any  one,  on  a  slight  acquaintance,  would  be  apt  to  give 
him  credit  for.  No  man  could  be  bolder  or  more  ready  to 
seize  giant  iniquity  by  the  horns,  whenever  he  became 
convinced  that  great  principles  were  involved,  or  the 
welfare  of  Church  and  State  imperilled.  It  was  for 
the  very  purpose  of  sounding  an  alarm  at  the  approach 
of  danger  that  he  felt  himself  stationed  on  the  walls 
of  Zion,  and  never  on  such  occasions  did  he  hesitate  to 
lift  up  his  voice  like  a  trumpet. 

At  one  time,  a  series  of  horse-races  was  projected  in 
the  neighbourhood,  and  he  at  once  threw  himself  in- 
to the  breach,  proclaiming  a  Fast,  and  calling  a  solemn 
assembly,  and  so  thundering  out  the  terrors  of  the  Lord 
as  to  turn  the  whole  tide  of  popular  feeling  to  the  side 


216 

of  God  and  right.  No  triumph  could  be  more  complete. 
The  impression  of  his  sermon  on  that  awful  day  still  lin- 
gers on  many  a  mind.  At  a  later  time,  strong  and  per- 
sistent efforts  were  made  to  establish  a  regular  Sabbath 
communication  between  Elizabethtown  and  the  city  of 
New  York,  by  means  of  a  line  of  steamboats,  counte- 
nanced by  not  a  few  of  the  Doctor's  friends,  and  respect- 
able citizens.  But  here,  too,  he  was  found  unyielding 
as  a  rock.  It  was  enough  for  him  to  be  convinced  that 
the  enterprise  was  a  violation  of  the  fourth  command- 
ment, and  fraught  with  injury  to  the  souls  of  men. 
These  things  tried  the  mettle  of  the  man,  as  well  as 
the  fidelity  of  the  minister,  and  he  did  not  falter  for  a 
moment'.  If  he  did  not  pluck  off  the  hair  of  the  lovers 
of  pleasure  and  gain  more  than  of  God,  like  Nehemiah, 
he  withstood  them  to  the  face,  as  did  Paul,  and  was 
successful. 

No  trait  of  his  character  was  more  prominent  than 
punctuality  — a  punctuality  that  left  him  little  patience 
with  the  large  tribe  of  dilatory  and  laggard  folks.  It 
was  strange  to  find  him  a  minute  behind  time  when  an 
appointment  had  been  made.  The  people  soon  came 
to  understand  that  when  the  minister  said  seven  for 
the  commencement  of  service,  in  the  pulpit  or  confer- 
ence room,  he  did  not  mean  eight.     An  incident  of  this 


217 

sort  is  well  remembered.  There  was  to  be  a  Funeral 
at  half  past  three,  just  at  the  close  of  public  service  ; 
but  the  Doctor  had  a  long-winded  brother  to  preach 
for  him,  who  kept  on  and  on,  until  his  patience  was 
utterly  exhausted.  After  looking,  and  twisting,  and 
wriggling,  for  a  long  time,  he  could  stand  it  no  longer, 
but  seizing  the  preacher  by  the  coat,  brought  him  to  a 
sudden  halt.  Another  illustration  of  a  more  serious 
nature  may  be  given.  The  Doctor  announced  that  he 
would  preach,  on  a  certain  evening,  in  the  "Stone  School. 
House,"  at  Lyon's  Farms.  In  the  course  of  the  day 
preceding  the  appointed  evening,  a  violent  storm  set 
in,  accompanied  by  a  high  wind,  which  gathered  the 
snow  in  deep  drifts,  and  rendered  travelling  exceed- 
ingly tedious  and  disagreeable.  But  the  knowledge  of 
their  minister's  punctuality  induced  many,  with  great 
difficulty,  to  make  their  way  to  the  place,  though  they 
doubted  whether  even  his  courage  would  surmount  the 
unusual  violence  of  the  storm  for  three  miles  of  road. 
One  person  says  he  secretly  rejoiced  in  the  thought  that 
they  should  now  get  ahead  of  the  Pastor.  Others,  by 
whose  houses  he  passed,  saw  him  going,  and,  ashamed 
to  be  thus  outdone,  breasted  the  fury  of  the  storm,  and 
the  room  was  crowded  to  overflowing.  That  evening, 
19 


218 

lie  took  for  his  text, — "  The  Master  is  come  and  calleth 
for  thee  ;"  and  the  service  was  blessed  to  the  awaken- 
ing of  a  number  of  individuals.  This  was  one  of  the 
early  incidents  in  the  great  revival  of  1817.  Gray- 
headed  men,  still  living,  say  that  the  Master  called 
them  that  dreary  night. 

All  this,  however,  is  but  a  very  imperfect  view  of  a 
man,  who,  for  nearly  sixty  years,  was  a  burning  and 
shining  light  among  the  churches  of  our  land.  Not 
only  is  his  record  on  high,  but  he  lives  in  the  hearts 
of  multitudes,  to  whom  his  name  will  be  fragrant  for- 
ever. Affectionately  Yours, 

DAVID  MAGIE. 


YII. 

From  the  Rev..  M.  C.  Sutphen. 

Philadelphia,  JYovember  16,  1863. 
Dear  Sir  : 

It  is  with  sincere  pleasure  that  I  comply  with  your 
request  to  furnish  some  reminiscences  of  my  venerated 
late  colleague — Dr.  McDowell. 

Although  I  was  born  within  a  mile  of  his  native 
place,  and  he  had  known  my  family  for  three  genera- 
tions, yet  my  acquaintance  with  him  dates  with  our  as- 
sociation in  the  pastorate  of  the  Spring  Garden  Church, 


219 

of  this  city.  You  will  not,  therefore,  expect  of  me  the 
characteristics  which  marked  his  earlier  so  much  as 
those  which  distinguished  his  later  years.  And  if  his 
life's  morning  was  bright,  surely  its  evening  was 
blessed.  As  the  natural  sunset  sheds  a  splendour  and 
beauty  peculiar,  so  the  sunset  of  this  eminent  man  of 
God. 

Among  many  qualities  which  adorned  his  old  age, 
mention  deserves  to  be  made  of  his  indomitable  ener- 
gy. This  ever  distinguishing  trait,  and  contributing 
in  no  small  degree  to  the'extraordinary  success  which 
crowned  his  early  efforts,  the  frosts  of  eighty  winters 
failed  to  prostrate  or  enfeeble.  Increasing  infirmities 
with  many  .dishearten,  so  that  they  shrink  from  the 
prosecution  of  labours  in  which  they  have  long  en- 
gaged, as  well  as  from  new  undertakings.  But  not  thus 
with  Dr.  McDowell.  His  resolute  will  exacted  of 
his  body,  even  after  it  had  become  infirm,  its  wonted 
toil.  The  same  erectness  which  was  observed  in  more 
vigorous  years  he  maintained  so  long  as  his  failing 
limbs  availed  to  support  him.  He  persisted  in  his 
habitual  early  rising  until  weakness  compelled  its  dis- 
continuance ;  and,  with  self  sacrificing  perseverance,  he 
fulfilled  the  duties  which  he  had  long  discharged, 
whether  of  a  domestic,  pastoral  or  ecclesiastical  charac- 


220 

ter.  Ne^ver  without  a  severe  struggle  did  be  relinquish 
any  labour  which  be  had  been  wont  to  perform  for  bis 
family,  the  individual  church  to  which  he  ministered, 
or  for  the  Church  universal.  Accordingly,  death  found 
him  girded  with  much  of  the  harness  in  which  he  had 
toiled  through  life.     Surely,  his  was  the  motto  : — 

"Ne'er  think  the  victory  won, 

"  Nor  once  at  ease  sit  down  ; 
"  Thy  arduous  work  will  not  be  done 

"  Till  thou  hast  got  the  crown." 

Another  characteristic  of  his  advanced  years  was  the 
admirable  manner  in  which  he  accomodated  himself  to 
the  changing  demands  of  the  ofSces  which  he  filled.  It 
is  not  infrequent  that  energy  remains  to  the  aged  with- 
out the  power  of  adaptation,  so  that,  though  anxious 
to  continue  useful  they  are  not  permitted.  But  in  Dr. 
McDowell  there  was  a  happy  appreciation  of  and  con- 
formity to  the  proprieties  of  the  services  he  performed. 
This  was  strikingly  manifest  in  his  pulpit  ministrations. 
Even  after  disease  had  diminished  usual  rapidity  of 
utterance,  his  prayers  and  sermons  were  most  appro- 
priately timed,  so  that,  until  sight  as  well  as  voice 
failed  him,  his  preaching  varied  but  little  from  that  of 
his  palmy  days,  when  delighted  crowds  hung  upon  his 
lips. 

Still  another  point  I  will  notice,  is  the  beautiful 


221 

manner  In  which  his  graces  developed  towards  the 
close  of  his  life.  As  is  well  known,  for  about  sixteen 
months  before  his  death,  he  was  physically  incompetent 
to  public  service,  and  was  shut  out  in  great  measure 
from  the  world.  This  relief  I  have  been  happy  of  re- 
gard as  a  'rest  granted  to  him  here  promissory  of  the 
more  perfect  rest  of  Heaven.  Like  Joshua  and  Caleb 
he  was  permitted  to  enjoy  an  earthly  Canaan  before 
entering  the  Heavenly.  "  God  seemed  to  call  him  aside 
from  his  incessant  toils  to  special  communion  with  him- 
self here,  preparatory  to -eternal  fellowship  hereafter; 
and  this  season  was  largely  spent  in  pious  reading  and 
meditation.  Frequently  in  my  visits  I  found  him  pe- 
rusing some  devotional  work,  and  especially  he  appeared 
to  enjoy  the  incomparable  writings  of  Bunyan.  It  was 
also  improved  in  grateful  recollection  of  the  past,  as 
well  as  faithful  preparation  for  and  hopeful  contempla- 
tion of  the  future. 

The  death  of  Dr.  McDowell  was  eminently  consistent 
with  his  life,  and  such  as  all  may  well  desire  to  die.  It 
was  literally  a  sleep.  The  only  sad  experience  was  his 
inability  to  speak ;  but  although  he  could  not  give  ver- 
bal expression  to  his  thoughts  and  feelings,  yet  he 
failed  not  by  signs  to  communicate  to  relatives  and 

friends  his  continued  aflfection  and   assured  hope  of 
*19 


222 

Heaven.  On  one  occasion,  shortly  before  his  departure, 
I  asked  him  if  the  Saviour  he  had  so  often  recommended 
to  others  was  precious.  His  countenance  at  once  lighted 
up,  as  with  a  ravishing  joy,  while  thrice,  in  the  most 
emphatic  manner,  he  intimated  assent.  Truly  fitting 
end  for  one  who  had  comforted  so  many  in  their  pas- 
sage through  the  dark  valley. 

Such  are  some  of  the  rays  of  light  which  emanated 
from  the  closing  hours  of  the  life  of  this  distinguished 
Father  in  Israel ;  and  I  shall  always  refer  with  grati- 
tude to  that  Providence  which  associated  me  with  him 
on  earth,  while  I  rejoice  in  that  grace  which  permits 
me  to  expect  fellowship  with  him  in  Heaven. 
Truly  3'ours; 

M.  C.  SUTPHEN. 


I 


vni. 

From  the  Rev.    Thomas  H.  Skinner,  D.  D. 

Newport,*  J^dy  15th,  1863. 
My  Dear  Sir  : 

In  compliance  with  your  request,  I  give  you  my  im- 
pressions of  the  character  of  the  late  Dr.  John  Mc- 
Dowell.    You  do  not  expect  me  to   speak  of  him  at 

•  This  letter  was  written  while  Dr.  Skinner,  was  passing  his  summer 
vacation  at  Newport. 


223 

length:  this  is  your  own  undertaking;  and  I  rejoice 
that  you  have  gratiiSed  his  friends  by  yielding  to  their 
desire  of  a  memoir  of  him.  You  are  engaged  in  a  good 
work :  the  life  of  such  a  man  deserves  to  be  well 
written. 

I  became  acquainted  with  him  in  the  early  part  of 
his  ministry  at  Elizabethtown,  when  I  resided  seven 
months  in  his  family  as  his  theological  pupil.  I  claim 
not  that  I  was,  when  so  young,  competent  to  judge  of 
him,  especially  in  his  character  and  work  as  a  minister, 
but  my  means  of  acquaintance  with  him  were  peculiar, 
and  I  received,  and,  on  retrospection  of  his  finished 
course,  I  retain,  convictions  of  his  worth,  according  to 
which  I  cannot  but  place  him  among  the  first  ministers 
and  disciples  of  our  Divine  Master  I  have  personally 
known.  I  am  persuaded  that  I  could  have  found  no 
situation  in  our  Church  at  that  time,  more  favourable  to 
my  preparation  for  the  sacred  office  than  that  which 
his  kindness  offered  me.  The  Theological  Seminary  at 
Princeton  was  not  established  :  there  were  men  of  more 
renown  in  the  Presbyterian  ministry,  but  I  think  I 
should  have  gained,  on  the  whole,  by  no  exchange  of 
position.  I  am  sure  that  no  one  who  is  to  be  a  minis- 
ter should  willingly  forego  the  advantages  of  a  thor- 
ough Seminary  training;  but  if  these  are  not  to  be 


224 

had,  it  would  be  di£Scult  to  find  better  than  I  enjoyed 
in  my  early  intimacy  with  Dr.  McDowell. 

He  was  not  distinguished  as  a  speculative  theologian, 
or  a  critic  of  Scripture  :  he  had  less  philosophy  and 
less  learning  than  some  of  his  brethren ;  but  there  was 
not  one  among  them  of  sounder  theological  views,  or 
better  instructed,  or  more  firmly  rooted  and  grounded, 
in  the  Biblical  system  of  doctrine.  Next  to  the  Bible, 
and  as  the  best  book-interpreter  of  its  substantive 
teaching,  he  received,  after  thorough  and  renewed 
study  of  it,  the  Westminster  Confession ;  every  article 
and  item  of  which  he  treated  in  course  in  the  pulpit^ 
and  then  gave  the  sermons  he  preached  on  it  to  the 
public,  in  two  octavo  volumes.  He  knew  it  from  a 
child,  and,  in  his  maturity,  as  a  minister,  it  was  the 
summary  and  the  standard  of  his  belief;  with  which 
his  preaching  was  never  consciously  discordant.  No 
one  was  farther  than  he  from  the  idolatry  of  "  the 
Symbol;"  not  the  Confession,  but  the  Bible  was  his 
authority  and  his  measure  in  preaching.  A  preacher 
more  entirely  and  emphatically  Biblical,  I  have  never 
heard — always,  on  all  topics,  he  spake  as  the  "  Oracle 
of  God;"  making  the  Confession  itself,  and  all  books, 
doctrines  and  teachings  of  men,  amenable  to  the  arbi- 
trament of  Holy  Scripture,    Nevertheless,  as  he  stood 


225 

pledged  before  God  and  the  world  to  the  Westminster 
Confession,  as  containing  the  Biblical  system  of  doc- 
trine, he  was,  to  his  life's  end,  faithful  to  that  pledge. 
In  Faith  and  in  Discipline  he  was  an  earnest  and  a  con- 
sistent Presbyterian.  With  the  most  exemplary  Ca- 
tholicism, with  the  most  cordial  acknowledgment  of 
the  churchship  and  ministry,  as  well  as  membership,  of 
other  denominations  of  Christians,  he  had  a  very  intel- 
ligent and  decided  preference  of  his  own ;  and  his 
thinking  and  teaching,  his  conversation  and  piety,  his 
ecclesiastical  and  public  life,  were  always  true  to  the 
theology  and  order  of  the  celebrated  Calvinistic  sym- 
bol, the  standard  of  Presbyterianism.  He  was,  by  no 
means,  ultra  or  extreme  in  his  ecclesiastical  polemics, 
or  in  disciplinary  measures :  on  one  or  two  points  he 
was  stricter  than  some  of  his  brethren  in  his  construc- 
tion of  the  Confession ;  but  he  was  an  extremist  in 
nothing.  I  regard  it  as  one  of  my  chief  privileges  in 
preparing  for  the  ministry,  that  I  had  such  intimacy 
with  a  mind  so  truly  liberal  and  genial,  and  exempt 
from  every  kind  of  narrowness  and  prejudice,  as  his; 
but  I  never  knew  one  more  settled  in  its  convictions  : 
it  was  remarkably  free  from  sectarian  exclusiveness, 
but  it  was  also  remarkably  fixed  and  firm  in  its  denomi- 
national attachments  and  tenets. 


226 

I  have  always  classed  him  with  the  best  preachers 
of  his  day.  He  was  not  equal  to  some  of  them  in  the 
higher  exhibitions  of  eloquence  ;  in  depth  and  com- 
pass of  thought  ;  in  ingenuity  and  originality  of  plan ; 
in  the  use  of  the  figures  of  rhetoric ;  in  the  finish  and 
elegance  of  style  ;  but  in  the  more  solid  excellences  of 
discourse,  in  matter,  in  ease,  simplicity  and  clearness 
of  method,  in  earnestness  and  directness  of  address, 
in  soundness  and  conclusiveness  of  reasoning,  in  per- 
spicuity, and  pre-eminently  in  applying  proof-texts 
and  illustrations  from  the  Bible,  and  concentrating 
every  thing,  from  first  to  last,  on  the  main  point  of  his 
discourse,  he  was  excelled  by  no  one  I  have  known.  In 
the  average  of  its  productions,  his  pulpit  was  in  the 
first  order.  No  preacher  is  always  equal  to  himself: 
from  his  own  level  of  performance,  which  was  high,  he 
very  seldom  descended.  If  his  discourse  was  not 
splendid  or  eloquent,  it  was,  with  rare  exceptions,  exact 
and  lucid  in  method,  compact,  solid,  and  it  was  always 
natural  and  simple.  He  composed  with  great  ease, 
treating  his  subject  with  reference  to  his  end  ;  restrict- 
ing his  analysis  rigidly  within  that  limit ;  avoiding 
tenuous  distinctions  and  definitions  •  unambitious  of 
rhetorical  embellishment  and  polish  ;  wholly  engaged 
in  carrying  his  point,  he  advanced  with  great  rapidity. 


227 

and  often  finished  his  sermon  at  a  sitting.  As  good 
discourses  as  his,  made  as  quickly,  I  am  sure  I  never 
heard.  And  without  much  novelty  as  to  manner,  there 
was  uncommon  variety  in  his  preaching.  He  adapted 
it  to  the  constantly  varying  wants  of  his  parish,  with 
which  he  kept  himself  particularly  acquainted.  And 
he  had  a  large  store  of  topics.  He  treated,  in  detail, 
both  the  doctrine  and  the  morality  of  the  Gospel.  There 
was  nothing  in  the  system  of  Christian  truth,  which  he 
thought  unsuitable  as  a  vehicle  of  the  renewing  and 
sanctifying  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  there  was  great 
breadth  in  the  sphere  of  his  subject-matter.  The  one 
theme,  Christ  Crucified^  had  indefinite  diversity  of  ex- 
hibition and  enforcement,  under  his  laborious  ministry. 
His  treasury  of  subjects  was  rich,  and  he  brought  forth 
out  of  it,  in  his  very  abundant  preachings,  things  new 
and  old.  His  dispensation  of  the  word  did  not  want 
the  highest  evidence  of  excellence,  the  attestation 
and  seal  of  the  Spirit.  While  I  was  with  him,  there 
were  almost  constant  refreshings  of  Divine  Grace  in 
his  parish,  and,  both  before  and  afterwards,  he  was 
familiar  with  these  decisive  tokens  of  God's  approval 
and  blessing. 

It  was,  in  a  high  degree  characteristic  of  his  preach- 
ing, that   it    was   suited  particularly  to  the  character 


228 

and  changing  circumstances  of  his  parish.  His  thor- 
ough acquaintance  withhis  parish  gave  the  word  of  com- 
mand to  his  selection  of  texts  and  subjects,  and  shaped, 
coloured  and  attempered  his  discourses  on  them.  He 
preached  to  his  people  as  a  flock,  and  not  as  an  audi- 
tory merely.  His  Elizabethtown  parish,  when  I  was 
with  him,  was  divided  into  districts,  in  each  of  which, 
in  turn,  he  met  a  gathering  of  his  people  on  a  week- 
day, and  gave  them  a  familiar  sermon.  In  season  and 
out  of  season,  publicly  and  from  house  to  house,  he 
abounded  in  parish  preaching.  The  pulpit,  with  him, 
except  when  he  preached  out  of  his  parish,  was  but  an 
instrument  —  the  chief  instrument  of  his  pastorate,  to 
realize  his  ideal  of  which  he  made  everything  subser- 
vient. Indeed,  excellent  as  he  was  as  a  Preacher,  his 
chief  distinction  was  the  completeness  and  all-sided- 
ness  of  his  example  as  a  Pastor.  In  this,  unquestiona- 
bly, he  was  a  rare  model  to  the  parish  minister.  There 
was  no  means  of  pastoral  efficiency  of  which  he  did 
not  strive  to  make  full  proof.  Bible  class  teaching, 
catechising,  parochial  visitation,  the  care  of  the  poor, 
attention  to  the  sick  and  to  families  in  affliction ;  con- 
ference with  individuals,  sympathy  with  his  people  in 
their  sorrows  and  joys  ;  proper  concern  even  for  their 
material    interests ;  friendly  and  thoughtful  oversight 


229 

of  the  common  school ;  variation  of  his  agency  to 
meet  appropriately  new  emergencies  in  his  parish ; 
every  thing  in  the  entire  compass  of  pastoral  enterprise 
and  prudence,  had  place  and  proportion  in  his  parochial 
assiduity.  Among  all  the  faithful,  sound-minded,  zeal- 
ous, devoted,  successful  Pastors  that  I  have  known,  in 
the  course  of  a  ministry  of  fifty  years,  there  is  not  one 
that  stands  higher  in  my  esteem,  in  the  sum  of  pasto- 
ral excellences,  than  my  own  revered  and  lamented 
Pastor,  Dr.  John  McDowell. 

His  application  to  parish  work  did  not  withdraw  him 
from  the  more  public  spheres  of  ministerial  activity. 
Among  all  his  brethren  who  more  constant,  more  punc- 
tual, more  laborious  than  he,  at  ecclesiastical  meetings, 
more  engaged  in  the  interest  of  missions,  and  of  theolo- 
gical education  and  general  learning;  or  more  earnest- 
ly and  patiently  occupied  in  the  various  forms  of  evan- 
gelistic labour?  Had  he  not  been  at  the  head  of  a 
parish,  had  he  been  entirely  a  minister  at  large,  his 
interest  could  hardly  have  been  greater  in  the  work  of 
domestic  and  general  evangelism.  There  was  no  dis- 
cordance between  the  intensity  and  fulness  of  his  pas- 
toral engagements  and  his  extra  parochial  fidelity  and 
influence.     The  spirit  of  his  pastorate  was  evangelistic. 

Not  his  parish,  but  the  world,  was  his  field.    His  church 
20 


230 

was  a  missionary  institution.  He  trained  it  to  be  an 
agent  in  the  general  cause  of  Christianity.  His  work 
out  of  his  parish  reacted  upon  and  forwarded  his  pas- 
torate, and  this  reciprocally  forwarded  and  stimulated 
that. 

There  was  a  beautiful  consistency,  a  sweet  harmony 
between  Dr.  McDowell's  appearance  in  general  society 
and  his  ministerial  character  and  position.  In  his 
social  relations  and  demeanour,  he  was  still  the  Chris- 
tian Minister,  still  the  Pastor.  There  was  no  reserve 
in  his  manners;  he  was  affable,  cheerful,  easy  in  his 
intercourse  with  the  world ;  but  no  one  who  had  been 
unacquainted  with  him  was  ever  surprised  at  learning 
that  he  was  a  Minister  of  the  Gospel.  In  company  he 
might,  at  any  time,  if  asked,  take  the  lead  in  worship 
without  being  under  the  necessity  of  passing  through 
an  abrupt  change  in  either  his  manners  or  frame  of 
mind.  He  made  no  ostentation  of  religion  ;  he  avoided 
worldly  complaisance.  He  was  never  a  man  of  strife; 
he  never  connived  at  wrong  doing.  In  matters  of  social 
prudence  or  expediency  he  was  a  pattern  of  discretion 
and  good  sense.  J 

My  residence  with  him  gave  me  opportunity  of  know- 
ing him  in  a  sphere  in  which,  more  than  in  any  other,  a 
man  appears  most  decisively  and  unequivocally  just  as 


231 

he  is, — the  bosom  of  the  family.  I  was  never  an  inmate 
of  a  more  cheerful,  pleasant,  happy  home  than  his  ;  but 
worldliness  had  no  license  to  enter  it.  He  was  in  his 
household,  as  he  was  in  his  parish  and  in  general  so* 
ciety,  consistent  with  himself  as  the  special  represen- 
tative of  Christianity.  Under  appropriate  modifica- 
tions, his  family  was  a  model  to  the  families  of  his 
parish.  There  was  a  church  in  his  house.  When  his 
family  came  together  for  worship,  morning  and  even- 
ing, he  was  not  accustomed  to  give  remarks  of  his  own  ; 
but,  when  I  was  with  him,  he  united  with  prayers  and 
the  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  the  constant  reading  of 
the  Commentary  of  Scott,  and  the  occupations  and 
pleasures  of  his  house  were  such  as  beautifully  became 
the  character  of  its  consecrated  head.  I  cannot  recall 
the  scenes  of  either  grief  or  pleasure  that  I  witnessed 
in  his  family  without  a  revived  consciousness,  at  this 
distant  day,  of  the  serene,  chastened,  and  amiable  piety 
by  which  they  were  marked.  During  my  residence 
with  him  he  was  not  without  painful  domestic  afilic- 
tions,  with  which  he  continued  to  be  deeply  familiar 
till  near  the  end  of  his  pilgrimage.  Nothing  in  human 
life  is  more  lovely  than  such  unmurmuring  submission 
and  gentleness  and  tenderness  of  spirit  as  he  exempli- 
fied under  them. 


232 

I  ought  to  speak  tenderly  of  the  peculiarity  of  his 
inward  life.  He  was  not  himself  free  in  expressing 
even  to  his  friends  the  frames  and  habitudes  of  his 
spirit.  Except  as  revealing  itself  in  his  ministry  and 
in  his  general  character,  there  were  few,  if  any,  so  far 
as  I  know,  who  had  the  means  of  intimate  acquaintance 
with  his  private  walk  with  God.  I  have  not  heard 
that  he  kept  a  diary  —  if  he  did,  I  should  be  surprised 
to  find  that  it  contained  much  about  fluctuations, 
in  ^is  "  experience."  There  were  few  indications  of 
these  in  his  external  life,  so  far  as  I  was  acquainted  with 
it.  I  should  suppose,  from  what  I  knew  of  him,  that 
his  subjective  piety  was  calmly  emotional  rather  than 
sensational,  or  much  diversified,  like  that  of  Brainerd, 
or  Martyn,  or  Pay  sou,  by  contrasted  variations,  high 
elevations  or  deep  depression  of  feeling.  The  impres- 
sion which  I  received  of  it,  from  personal  intercourse 
with  him,  was  that  of  habitual  peace  and  cheerfulness. 
Religion,  as  represented  in  his  example,  was  not  severe 
and  ascetic,  but  social,  amiable,  attractive.  It  was 
evident,  that  as  he  recommended  it  to  others  in  his 
ministry,  as  the  good  part,  the  true  portion  of  man,  so 
it  was  his  own  supreme  happiness  ;  that  he  had  in  him- 
self the  earnest  of  the  "purchased  possession;"  that 
his  work  as  a  minister  was  not  merely  functional ;  that 


233 

he  did  not  preach  an  unknown  Christ ;  that  he  was 
himself  a  traveller  to  that  Heavenly  country  to  which 
he  invited  and  allured  others  to  travel.  He  was,  to 
myself,  when  I  was  his  pupil,  a  son  of  consolation  in 
my  spiritual  conflicts.  I  cannot  think  it  possible  that 
Buch  an  adept  as  he  was  in  conferences  with  troubled 
souls,  such  a  minister  of  peace  to  the  disquieted  and 
dejected  in  spirit,  could  have  been  habitually  without 
a  vivid  sense  of  the  peace  of  God  in  himself.  I  have 
always  regarded  him,  not  as  an  Edwards,  or  a  Howe,  or 
an  Owen,  or  a  Flavel,  in  the  deep  and  various  workings 
of  spiritual  feeling,  but  as  a  bright  and  lovely  example 
of  the  present  *'  blessedness  of  the  righteous,"  "  the  life 
of  God  in  the  soul  of  man."  I  have,  at  this  moment, 
in  lively  recollection  instances  of  his  sympathy  with 
myself  in  my  early  religious  disquietudes,  which  renew 
my  love  for  him  as  a  spiritual  comforter  and  guide, 
while  I  am  writing  this  sentence. 

There  was  a  trait  of  nobleness  in  the  nature  of  this 
good  minister  of  Christ.  He  was  a  genial,  generous, 
liberal-spirited  man.  Grace  found  a  favourable  soil  to 
root  itself  and  grow  in  the  peculiarities  of  his  physical 
constitution.  While  it  sanctified  these,  they  became 
choice  instruments  of  its  power — it  beautified,  it  glori- 
fied itself  through  them.  They  gave  a  tincture,  a 
*20 


234 

colour,  a  glow  to  his  ministry  and  his  piety.  By  means 
of  them  he  became,  in  a  degree  to  which  otherwise  he 
doubtless  would  not  have  attained,  like  "  the  disciple 
whom  Jesus  loved,"  both  in  his  oflScial  and  private  cha- 
racter. His  mindfulness  of  early  friends,  after  long 
separatioi.  from  them  ;  his  precious  letters  of  condo- 
lence to  them  in  affliction ;  his  generous  sympathy  with 
young  men  in  their  trials  and  struggles  with  difficulty; 
the  non-interference  of  his  pastoral  and  ecclesiastical 
labours  with  private  and  individual  claims  on  hi&  time 
and  care,  these,  which  distinguished  his  whole  career, 
were  specially  dignified  and  adorned  by  the  natural- 
ness and  spontaneity  which  signalized  them  all. 

On  the  whole,  according  to  my  maturest  thought, 
my  settled  convictions,  there  were  very  few  in  his  day 
that  deserve  a  higher  place  among  models  of  pastoral 
and  private  worth  than  this  venerable  man  of  God. 
He  began  in  early  life  the  service  of  his  Divine  Master  ; 
for  nearly  three  score  years,  without  any  intermission, 
and  I  think  I  might  almost  say  with  scarcely  a  vaca- 
tion for  rest,  he  laboured  as  his  minister,  in  word  and 
doctrine,  to  the  latest  days  of  a  life  of  more  than  four 
score ;  abounding  in  the  arduous  duties  of  the  pasto- 
rate, bringing  forth  precious  fruit,  even  to  the  last, 


235 

and  ceasing  from  his  cheerful  toil  only  to  breathe  out 
his  spirit,  and  depart  to  be  with  Christ. 
I  am,  very  dear  Sir, 

With  the  highest  regard,  yours, 

THOMAS  H.  SKINNER. 


IX. 

From  the  Rev.  S.  H.  Cox,  D.  D. 

New  York,  December  19,  1863. 
My  Dear  Brother  : 

The  late  Reverend  John  McDowell,  D.  D.,  of  Phila- 
delphia, I  well  knew,  and  love  him  yet,  not  only  with 
high  and  filial  esteem,  but  with  reverence  due  to 
exalted  excellence  ;  also  with  the  affection  proper  to  a 
mature  friendship,  at  once,  I  trust,  mutual,  personal, 
tender,  and  of  immortal  continuance. 

It  is  in  these  relations,  my  dear  friend  and  brother 
in  Christ,  that  you  invoke,  from  my  pen,  some  memo- 
rial of  him  ;  and  I  respond  Avith  all  my  heart ;  if  I 
may  be  helped  to  make  some  fitting  contribution, 
acceptable,  possibly  useful,  with  others  to  the  biogra- 
phical pyramid,  which  I  am  glad,  my  dear  Dr.  Sprague, 
that  you  are  engaged  to  rear  to  his  memory,  more 
to  the  glory  of  the  Great  Author  of  the  new  creation, 


236 

•who  made  him  what  he  was  in  this  world,  and  what  he 
is  in  that  brighter  and  better  world,  where  all  the  elect 
of  God  shall  ultimately  be  at  home,  happy  and  holy 
forever. 

It  was  about  autumn,  in  the  year  1811,  when  I  first 
saw  and  heard  Dr.  McDowell  in  one  of  the  pulpits  of 
Newark,  N.  J.  A  stranger  to  me  as  I  to  him,  I 
had  no  idea  of  his  character,  no  prejudice  for  him  or 
against  him,  apart  from  the  wrong  feelings  of  a  worldly 
mind.  Knowing  not  his  Divine  Master,  nor  my  own 
heart,  when  I  was  a  young  student  of  the  Law  in  that 
city,  (then  only  a  large  and  beautiful  town,)  when  the 
present  was  all  to  me,  the  future  an  indefinite  mist  of 
inscrutable  possibilities,  the  importance  of  which,  as 
I  then  thought  and  felt,  was  almost  practically  nothing. 

At  that  time  he  was  the  Pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Elizabethtown,  six  miles  to  the  South  of  us, 
then  no  other  church  in  that  town  —  now  also  a  city, 
with  several  others  of  the  same  faith,  order,  name. 
His  text,  on  that  occasion  was.  Quench  not  the  Spirit : 
1  Thes.,  V,  19  —  as  I  could  never  forget. 

After  due  explanation  of  the  ofiice-work  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  the  Divine  economy  of  redemption,  where  his 
soundness  could  not  fail  of  a  correct  demonstration,  he 
gave   reasons  why  we  must  not  quench  his  influenca. 


237 

The  logical  sequence  and  array  of  those  reasons  I  can- 
not now  reproduce.  They  were,  however,  well  dis- 
posed, masterly  in  distribution  and  aggression,  espec- 
ially on  the  mind  and  the  conscience  of  the  sinner.  I 
was  not  the  only  one  that  felt  it.  The  moral  con- 
sciousness of  many  of  us  was  just  impaled  and  kept  in 
durance  —  not  vile  ;  as  the  shafts  of  truth  struck  us, 
from  his  well  poised  archery  ;  shafts  selected  from  the 
thesaurus^  the  armory  of  God,  and  sped  as  from  the 
quiver  of  the  Almighty.  At  least  two  of  his  impres- 
sive thoughts  I  can  rehearse.  First,  said  he,  "  The 
work  of  the  Spirit  is  to  us  proximate,  and  in  order 
last,  as  compared  with  the  offices  of  the  Father  and 
the  Son.  Hence  only  resist  Him  effectually,  grieve  Him 
away,  quench  totally  the  flame  He  would  enkindle,  and 
you  are  lost !  You  have  then  in  Him,  alienated  God 
forever  from  you,  the  Father  and  the  Son  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  all  the  Persons  of  the  Godhead.  There  will  be 
another — never,  to  debate  with  you  and  persuade  you." 
He  paused,  as  he  spoke  it.  Every  word  weighed 
heavy  as  a  millstone.  He  felt  as  his  grave,  and  clear, 
and  solemn  articulation  announced  it.  It  seemed  to 
resound,  as  the  dirge  of  lost  souls.  We  felt  as  we 
heard  it.     Second  — 

In  conclusion,  said  he,  "  You  seem  to  feel  it.     Alas  ! 


238 

without  true  faith,  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit,  jou  will  all, 
I  know,  forget  it,  till  the  day  of  judgment.  Wherefore, 
yield  to  his  holy  and  heavenly  influence  this  instant ; 
and  whatever  of  this  sermon  you  forget,  remember,  I 
pray  you,  0  remember  the  text — Quench  not  the  Spirit" 

It  was  seemingly  a  living  sermon,  with  living  effect.  I 
It  was  the  pure  and  simple  Gospel  of  Christ  that  he 
preached.  I  feel  it  yet.  His  honest  directness,  godly 
sincerity,  manly  propriety  of  diction ;  himself  hid 
behind  his  Master,  made  him  such  a  preacher,  for  good 
effect,  as  no  Archbishop  in  many  ages  equals  ;  and  few 
devout  Presbyters  of  whatever  age  or  name.  He  had 
perpetually  a  succession  of  revivals ;  but  they  were 
rational  as  the  truth  of  Scripture,  and  not  delighting 
in  mere  sensation,  noise,  extravagance,  disorder,  delu- 
sion and  stony  ground  experiences. 

His  general  character  as  a  man,  a  Christian,  a  min- 
ister of  Christ,  a  theologian,  a  preacher,  a  pastor,  a 
friend,  a  person  every  way  so  eminent,  so  useful,  so 
honoured,  so  esteemed,  so  loved,  is  well  and  widely 
known;  and  glad  I  am  that  in  your  hands,  my  dear 
brother,  it  will  be  more  extensively  portrayed,  appre- 
ciated ;  so  exemplary,  so  beneficent.  Of  those  whose 
hands  devoted  me  in  office,  at  my  Ordination,  only  two 
or  three  of  the  large  and  venerable  old  Presbytery  of 


239 

Jersey  remain.  In  that  constellation,  I  rejoice  instinct- 
ively to  remember  him  as  a  star  of  magnitude  now 
■fixed  in  the  firmament  of  the  new  creation.  He  was 
just  thirteen  years  my  senior,  then  proportionally  felt 
to  be,  as  then  it  was,  considerably  greater  than  in  pe- 
riods much  subsequent. 

He  was  distinguished  for  practical,  punctual,  symme- 
trical, assiduous,  executive  service  in  the  Church  ;  local, 
provincial,  national,  universal :  this  the  ratio  semper 
eadem  of  his  excellence.  He  was  eminently  Scriptural  in 
all  his  ministrations,  as  well  as  steady,  sound,  compre- 
hensive, edifying — except  too  possibly  to  some  who 
desired  almost  any  other  qualification  in  a  preacher, 
rather  than  the  last  I  mention.  I  have  preached  for 
him,  with  him;  in  times  of  revival,  of  greatly  quick- 
ened interest  among  his  flock,  and  often,  too ;  and  if  in 
any  thing  our  general  views  of  doctrine  or  theosophy 
were  at  all  various — I  write  knowing  what — our  practi- 
cal agreement  was  moral  identity  ;  in  his  own  words,  as 
I  think  I  remember  them;  I  "  clinched  all  the  nails  he 
drove,  he  all  mine."  He  was  no  bigot,  no  hobby-driver, 
no  jealous,  consequently  no  mean  detractor  from  the 
just  estimation  of  others,  and  when,  in  the  mourning 
times  of  excission,  in  1837-38,  1  record  it  from  his 
own  faithful  disclosures  to  myself,  few   bosoms  more 


240 

laboured  with  ingenuous  grief  than  his  own.  I  could 
here  say  more,  much  more,  but — I  forbear. 

Dr.  McDowell  was  ever  industrious  to  a  proverb,  a 
rare  paragon  of  that  great  virtue ;  as  distinguished 
also  for  a  genial  and  apostolic  sympathy;  for  a  care 
and  an  interest  toward  young  ministers  and  candidates 
for  the  ministry,  which  was  truly  paternal ;  as,  in  some 
good  degree,  it  was  alike  characteristic  and  rare  also. 
Oh,  how  excellent,  as  compared  with  some  opposites, 
that  many  have  had  to  remember,  not  one  to  approve. 
A  character  stiff  with  dignity,  inaccessible,  factitiously 
unkind,  wealthy,  selfish,  while  technically  glorying  in 
a  transcendental  disinterestedness;  disinterested  in  all 
the  trials  and  the  wants  of  others ;  in  such  contrasts,  if 
true  religion  is  lovely,  how  truly  amiable  and  excellent 
in  the  sight  of  God  and  man,  are  the  name  and  the 
memory  of  John  McDowell.  I  am  happy,  both  as  a 
witness  and  a  beneficiary,  to  attest  his  excellence, 
glorifying  God  in  him. 

But  I  must  conclude.  A  friend  has  just  put  in  my 
hand  a  good  sermon  of  Rev.  David  Magie,  D.  D.,  of 
Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  well  written,  and  full  of  truth,  com- 
memorative of  his  life  and  character,  which  I  commend, 
to  your  perusal  and  use.  I  was  not  at  his  Funeral, 
but  last  May  24th,   at  the    General  Assembly,   I   felt 


I 


241 

it  a  privilege  to  preach  for  his  worthy  successor,  Rev. 
M.  C.  Sutphen,  in  the  presence  of  a  large  assemblage 
of  his  friends,  his  weeping  and  honoured  widow  in- 
cluded ;  then  and  there  to  anticipate,  in  reference  to 
Dr.  McDowell,  the  substance  of  this  document,  and  to 
express  my  sympathetic  and  humble  and  most  frater- 
nal impressions  of  his  worth. 

Faithfully  and  fraternally  yours  in  Jesus, 

SAMUEL  HANSON  COX. 


X. 

From  the  Rev.  Thomas  L.  Janeway,  D.  D. 

Philadelphia,  March  1,  1864. 
Dear  Sir  : 

You  have  asked  for  my  recollections  of  my  lamented 
and  venerable  friend.  Dr.  John  McDowell,  and  I  cheer- 
fully comply  with  your  request.  My  father's  residence 
in  this  city,  and  the  annual  meetings  here  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  made  me,  from  my  boyhood,  acquainted 
with  the  distinguished  men  of  our  Church,  among 
whom  I  recall  Dr.  McDowell.  He  was  a  frequent  guest 
of  my  father's,  and  I  believe,  on  such  occasions,  always 
preached  for  him.  I  can  remember  his  name  as  con- 
nected with  the  great  revivals  which  honoured  and 
21 


242 

blessed  his  ministry.  My  attendance  at  the  Seminary 
at  Princeton  brought  him  more  frequently  and  intelli- 
gently before  me.  After  my  licensure,  and  some  mis- 
sionary labour  performed,  I  was  prepared  to  settle,  and 
he  kindly  commended  me  to  the  people  of  Rahway,  and 
there  I  became,  in  my  early  ministry,  his  near  neigh- 
bour. He  presided  at  the  meeting  which  called  me, 
and  preached  my  Ordination  Sermon,  and  I  remember, 
on  that  day,  he  gave  me  advice  and  told  me  facts  which 
were  of  incalculable  advantage  to  a  young  and  inex- 
perienced preacher.  Our  congregations  joined,  and  in 
the  school  houses  on  the  border  we  often  met  for  com- 
mon labour.  To  me  he  was  uniformly  kind,  and  he 
gave  me  a  prominence  I  hardly  deserved.  A  frequent 
guest  at  his  table,  I  could  go  to  him  at  all  times,  with 
almost  filial  confidence  for  advice. 

In  those  days,  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabethtown  had 
their  annual  visitations  to  their  different  churches. 
The  ministers,  two  and  two,  went  forth,  for  a  series  of 
days,  preaching,  exhorting,  and  confirming  the  minds 
of  the  disciples^ — Dr.  McDowell  kindly,  on  such  occa- 
sions, insisting  that  I  should  be  his  companion ;  and 
many  an  hour  of  pleasant  intercourse  have  I  spent  in 
his  society,  and  many  a  phase  of  human  nature  did  he 
present  to  my  mind,  and  from  his  long  and  varied  ex- 


243 

perience  did  I  learn  to  labour  in  the  vineyard.  That 
God  placed  my  early  ministry  in  that  region,  and 
under  such  influences,  in  ail  probability,  gave  me 
fitness  for  any  usefulness  I  have  been  permitted  to  ex- 
ercise in  the  Church  of  our  Master.  'Eternity  only 
will  disclose  how  much  of  mercy  to  me,  and  may  I  not 
hope  to  others,  my  settlement  in  Rahway,  then  an  ob- 
scure village,  and  owing  to  Dr.  McDowell's  kind  influ- 
ence, was  ordained  to  accomplish.  His  removal  to 
Philadelphia  separated  us.  Never  failing,  in  my  occa- 
sional visits  to  the  city  of  my  birth,  to  call  and  pay 
him  my  respectful  attention,  he  met  me  with  the  same 
kind  treatment,  and  exhibited  the  pleasure  he  felt. 
Years  passed,  and  we  became  near  neighbours,  when  I 
settled  as  a  Pastor  in  Philadelphia.  Soon  after,  his 
trials  began — trials  overruled  to  the  glory  of  God  and 
the  extension  of  his  Church  ;  and  when,  to  the  amaze- 
ment of  all,  at  his  time  of  life,  he  determined  to  com- 
mence a  new  enterprise,  after  my  surprise  at  his  appa- 
rent hardihood,  I  rejoiced  in  the  prospect  of  his  suc- 
cess. It  was  at  my  suggestion  in  Presbytery  that  the 
present  important  site  of  the  Spring  Garden  Church 
was  selected.  It  was  near  my  church,  and  I  knew  the 
region,  and  the  likelihood  of  its  great  enlargement. 
When  he  was    installed,    he    required    that    I    should 


244 

preach  the  Sermon ;  and  when  the  ground  was  broken 
for  the  trench  of  the  foundation,  he  was  kind  enough 
to  insist  that  I  should  be  the  principal  speaker.  I 
sympathised  in  his  struggle — I  marvelled  at  his  perse- 
verance— I  wondered  how  he  could  endure  it — but  the 
building  rose,  the  people  gathered,  and  valuable  fami- 
lies were  gained  to  our  cause.  And  when  the  new 
house  was  crushed  in  by  a  mass  of  snow,  and  his  friends 
all  seemed  crushed  too,  he,  with  his  characteristic 
faith  and  energy,  girded  his  loins  to  his  work,  and  rose 
stronger  from  the  blow.  I  felt  thankful  to  hear,  as 
Chairman  of  a  Committee  appointed  at  a  meeting  of 
the  Pastors  of  our  churches,  the  assurance  of  their 
sympathy,  and  the  promise  of  effective  assistance.  He 
was  overcome  and  wept  when  he  heard  of  their 
kindness. 

The  church  arose  from  its  rubbish  in  brighter  beauty, 
and  remaineth  to  this  day,  his  monument,  and,  by  the 
goodness  of  God,  the  honour  of  a  faithful  servant. 
Few  knew  what  all  these  efforts  cost  him:  what  toil, 
what  weariness,  what  anxiety.  He  told  me  that  five 
days  in  every  week,  for  two  years,  were  spent  soliciting 
aid  for  his  church  edifice,  and  his  success  was  wonder- 
ful. Before  he  was  called  hence,  he  could  rejoice  over 
the  child  of  his  old  affections,  as  out  of  debt,  and  like- 


245 

ly  to  run  a  career  of  honourable  usefulness.  I  felt  it  a 
privilege  to  attend,  as  I  did,  worship  in  his  church, 
when  it  was  opened,  one  Sabbath  evening  in  each  month. 
He  always  expected  me  to  occupy  a  seat  in  his  pulpit, 
and  I  went  there  as  a  matler  of  course.  He  received  it  as 
a  respectful  kindness,  and  the  sympathy  of  a  younger 
disciple.  Our  churches  met,  on  several  occasions,  for 
union  meetings,  on  consecrated  days.  My  people  always 
welcomed  him,  for  he  was  extensively  known  and 
greatly  revered  among  them.  Few  ministers,  a  younger 
with  an  elder  and  more  honoured  servant  of  God,  have, 
in  Divine  Providence,  in  a  period  extending  over  thir- 
ty-three years,  been  so  commingled  in  services,  and  the 
younger  permitted,  in  after  life,  to  return  the  kindness 
he  received  at  the  outstart  from  his  venerable  friend. 
Eight  years  before  his  death,  loss  of  health  compelled 
me  to  resign  my  charge  and  retire  to  the  country,  in 
hope  of  its  recovery.  He  expressed  great  regret,  and 
was  pleased  to  say  that  he  should  miss  me  from  his 
circle.  Again  Providence  brought  me  into  close  fel- 
lowship with  him,  when  I  became  Corresponding  Sec- 
retary of  the  Board  of  Domestic  Missions.  He  was 
President  of  the  Board,  and  Chairman  of  its  Executive 
Committee.    As  long  as  increasing  infirmities  permitted, 

he  met  me  in  Committee  every  week.     I  recall  his  kind 
*21 


246 

expression  of  welcome,  and  the  confidence  lie  gave  me, 
amid  the  dangers  and  embarrassments  of  the  situation. 
And  he  rejoiced  when  the  Board  began  to  emerge  from 
its  difficulties,  and  his  last  efforts  were  given  to  a 
cause,  over  which,  for  thirty  years,  he  had  w^atched, 
and  laboured,  and  fainted  not. 

If  I  may  be  permitted  to  give  my  impression  of  Dr. 
McDowell,  as  a  Preacher,  which  I  early  received,  and 
which  all  my  intimacy  afterwards  confirmed,  it  was 
•that  he  possessed  great  fervour  and  unction  of  manner, 
■and  that  he  made  every  one  feel  that  he  was  a  good 
man,  and  sincerely  desirous  to  save  souls  —  his  sensi- 
bilities were  easily  excited,  and  he  often  wept  over 
sinners  in  his  anxiety  for  their  salvation. 

Others  will  tell  you  of  his  devotion  to  his  life-long 
work — what  a  model  Pastor  he  was  —  how  marvellous 
was  his  success,  and  what  glorious  revivals  God  hon- 
ored him  with ;  the  devoted  attachment  of  his  flock  to 
his  person  and  his  ministry;  the  exactitude  of  his 
habits,  the  amazing  amount  of  labour  that  he  per- 
formed, and  so  on,  till  he  fell  with  his  harness  on  —  a 
striking  instance,  in  these  days  of  change,  of  an  aged 
minister  dying  surrounded  by  his  flock.  I  saw  him 
shortly  before  his  departure,  — the  same  man  as  ever 
amid  the  wreck  of  his  humanity,  and  my  visit  seemed 


247 

to  gratify  him.  I  helped,  with  devout  men,  to  carry 
him  to  his  resting-place,  till  his  Master  calls  him  at  the 
last  day.  It  is  among  the  mercies  of  my  life  that  I 
knew  him  so  well,  and  enjoyed  so  much  of  his  confi- 
dence. I  hope  to  meet  him  in  a  brighter  and  purer 
world,  to  renew  our  friendship,  and  unite  in  the  holier 
worship  of  God. 

I  am  with  great  regard,  truly  yours, 

THOMAS  L.  JANEWAY. 


XL 
From  Mrs.  Lydia  A.  Holdich.* 

HOBOKEN. 

Dear  Sir  : 

I  take  pleasure  in  giving  you  a  few  of  my  early  re- 
collections of  one  of  the  best  and  noblest  men  I  have 
ever  known. 

A  child  is  a  true  physiognomist,  and,  from  the  time 
I  remember  any  thing,  I  remember  what  trust  I  placed 
in  Dr.  McDowell's  word.  I  felt  that  he  was  always 
true.  Fancy  brings  him  before  me  now,  as  I  used  to 
see  him  in  my  childish  days.  I  recall  the  morning  and 
evening  prayer,  in  which  there  was  little  variety,  but 
which  always  seemed  solemn  and  fervent,  though  very 
calm.     There  was  sincerity  in  the  tones  of  his  voice  — 

♦Wife  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Holdich. 


248 

nothing  was  ever  put  on — there  was  no  exaggeration.  I 
liked  his  short  sentences.  He  never  used  an  involved 
sentence  in  preaching,  conversation  or  prayer.  His 
faith  in  prayer  was  often  tested.  He  has  called  his  con- 
gregation together  to  fast  and  pray  for  rain  during  a 
distressing  drought,  and  I  think,  on  each  occasion, 
rain  was  sent,  apparently  in  answer  to  prayer.  I  once 
spoke  to  a  wise  and  thoughtful  Christian  friend  of  the 
marked  answers  that  Dr.  McDowell's  public  prayers 
had  received.  She  replied,  "he  honours  God  publicly, 
and  therefore  God  honours  him."  Dr.  Morse,  an  old 
physician  in  Elizabethtown,  used  often  to  say  to  his 
patients,  "Now  I've  done  all  that  I  can  for  you,  only 
one  thing  remains, — Dr.  McDowell's  prayers."  This 
used  to  be  said  seriously,  although  Dr.  Morse  was  not 
himself  a  professor  of  religion.  And  really  there  were 
striking  facts  to  notice  in  this  connection,  one  of  which 
I  can  distinctly  recall.  I  knew  a  lady  who  lay  so  low 
that  her  physician  said  she  would  not  survive  the  night. 
It  was  the  evening  of  the  weekly  lecture,  and  the  daugh- 
ter of  the  sick  lady,  feeling  that  all  earthly  hope  was 
vain,  sent  a  request  that  her  mother  should  be  remem- 
bered in  her  Pastor's  prayers.  A  remarkable  change 
in  her  symptoms  suddenly  took  place,  and  to  this  day 
the  daughter  loves  to  think  that  the  mother  was  spared 


249 

in  answer  to  her  minister's  prayer.  It  was  a  common 
saying  among  us  children, — "It  will  rain  on  Sunday,  for 
Dr.  McDowell  will  pray  for  it."  I  can  now  recall  his 
prayer  in  my  aged  grandmother's  room,  with  his  im- 
pressive application  of  the  91st  Psalm  to  herself.  It 
marked  the  Psalm  for  me  then  and  ever  after.  The 
children  of  his  congregation  loved  him  dearly,  and  yet 
there  was  nothing  caressing  in  his  manner,  although  he 
was  always  kind  and  considerate  towards  them. 

His  habit  of  life  was  very  simple.  I  can  see  him  now 
working  with  his  own  hands,  in  the  garden  in  which  he 
took  no  little  pleasure,  assisted  by  two  faithful  coloured 
men,  each  of  whom  lived  with  him  a  number  of  years. 
He  generally  raised  the  earliest  and  finest  vegetables 
of  the  season,  and  his  neighbours  were  very  apt  to  pro- 
fit by  his  industry  in  this  respect.  At  the  foot  of  the 
garden  there  was  a  fine  orchard,  and  when  he  some- 
times found  me,  with  a  book  from  his  library,  curled 
up  among  the  crooked  branches  of  an  apple  tree,  his 
invariable  salutation  was, — "  Well,  little  Miss  Roman- 
tic." He  catechised  us  children  regularly,  I  think, 
once  a  month — it  may  have  been  once  a  quarter.  He 
required  us  to  learn  the  Shorter  Catechism  perfectly, 
and  liked  us  to  commit  the  Larger  Catechism  also. 
Many  of  us  went  through   the  verbose  answers  of  the 


250 

latter  for  love  of  him,  and  our  reward  was  the  "  Very 
well,  very  well  indeed,"  pronounced  emphatically,  as 
he  looked  first  at  us  and  then  around  the  room,  as  if 
he  wished  others  to  participate  in  his  own  satisfaction. 
When  we  were  older  we  attended  his  lectures  on  Church 
History,  which  were  commenced  by  questions  on  the 
Catechism.  His  course  in  Church  History  was  narrow 
but  thorough.  What  he  taught  he  made  us  under- 
stand clearly.  Whatever  he  undertook  to  teach  was 
well  taught,  and  I  have  often  thought  that  his  success 
in  life  was  partly  owing  to  his  understanding  so  ex- 
actly what  he  had  the  ability  to  accomplish.  Milner's 
Church  History  formed  the  basis  of  his  lectures.  He 
read  the  lecture  for  the  ensuing  week  to  us,  after  ex- 
amining us  on  the  one  read  the  preceding  Wednesday 
evening.  Notes  were  taken,  and  thus  those  who  had 
no  opportunity  to  study  from  books  were  able  to  under- 
stand the  lesson.  It  gave  many  a  taste  for  books,  and 
a  sense  of  their  value.  A  volume  in  which  they  found 
the  whole  lecture,  and  more  besides,  was  a  real  treasure. 
Some  of  the  best  scholars  were  those  who  had  fewest 
literary  advantages.  My  heretical  tendencies  were 
early  developed.  I  crossed  with  pen  and  ink  the  dog- 
matical answer  to  the  question  in  the  Larger  Catechism, 
"  Can  those  who  have  never  heard  the  Gospel,  know  not 


251 

Jesus  Christ  and  believe  not  on  Him,  &c.,"  (I  have  not 
the  book  by  me  to  quote  it  exactly  and  fully  now),  "  be 
saved,  if  they  are  ever  so  anxious  to  frame  their  lives 
according  to  the  light  of  nature,  and  the  laws  of  the 
religion  they  profess  ? "  but  told  no  one  that  I  had 
done  so.  One  evening  the  Doctor  had  forgotten  his 
own  Confession  of  Faith,  a  thing  which  I  think  he  never 
did  before  nor  since.  There  was  no  Catechism  but 
mine  for  him  to  borrow.  It  was  fairly  forced  from  me 
by  circumstances.  I  trembled  when  he  took  it.  He 
asked  us  our  questions  as  calmly  as  usual ;  heard  our 
Church  History  lesson,  gave  out  that  for  the  subsequent 
evening,  and  then  took  that  crossed  question  for  a  text. 
In  no  mild  nor  measured  terms  did  he  denounce  the 
presumption  of  the  young  person  who  dared  to  expunge 
the  words  written  by  wise  and  holy  men,  like  the  com- 
pilers of  the  Catechism.  The  question  went  around  the 
class  in  whispers,  "  Whose  Catechism  is  it  ?  "  And  I, 
blushing  and  crying,  had  to  say,  "It  is  mine."  Ah! 
he  was  very  severe  that  time,  but  he  learned,  in  the 
latter  part  of  his  life,  that  conscience  cannot  be  squared 
by  rule  and  compass,  and  that  all  Christian  people  can- 
not look  at  truth  through  Calvinistic  spectacles.  His 
faith  in  the  doctrines  of  his  own  Church  continued  as 
strong  as   ever,  but   he   certainly  became   more   tole- 


252 

rant  to  the  creed  of  others,  as  he  advanced  in  life.  I 
think  the  circumstance  I  have  narrated  was  never  spo- 
ken of  outside  the  class  bj  either  of  us.  I  was  bitter- 
ly mortified,  but  not  angry,  for  I  knew  that,  though 
very  much  in  earnest,  he  was  never  cross  nor  unkind. 
One  of  Dr.  McDowell's  peculiarities  was  a  dislike  to 
changes  of  any  kind.  It  annoyed  him  to  have  the 
smallest  article  of  furniture  transposed.  He  kept  the 
same  servants  many  years.  Some  of  them  were  cha- 
racters in  their  way.  One  very  old  coloured  man  was 
named  Jack.  During  one  of  the  very  general  revivals 
with  which  Dr.  McDowell's  congregation  was  so  often 
blessed,  Jack  became  a  Christian.  Perfectly  uneduca- 
ted and  of  weak  intellect,  he  yet  gave  undoubted  evi- 
dence, by  his  changed  habits  and  humble  teachable- 
ness, of  his  love  for  the  Redeemer.  Jack  was  always 
glad  to  come  in  to  prayers  after  he  became  a  Christian, 
and  he  liked  to  be  questioned  with  the  family  on  points 
of  Christian  doctrine.  But  he  had  one  invariable  an- 
swer to  every  question, — "The  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 
Poor  old  man !  he  had  learned  to  love  that  name,  and 
his  heart  and  what  mind  he  had  were  full  of  it.  We 
often  remarked  the  ingenuity  with  which  Dr.  McDowell 
would  put  the  question  which  made  his  answer  a  cor- 
rect one. 


253 

Never  was  any  one  freer  from  envy  or  emulation,  and 
never  had  the  Presbyterian  Church  a  more  distin- 
guished lover.  I  know  that  his  own  personal  interests 
were  as  nothing  to  him  in  comparison  with  the  inte- 
rests of  his  Church.  When,  by  his  desire,  the  Second 
Church  in  Elizabeth  was  set  off  from  his  own,  some 
one  said,  "It  will  weaken  your  congregation."  "Yes," 
he  simply  answered,  "but  it  will  strengthen  Presbyte- 
rianism."  Some  one  told  him  of  a  comparison  that 
had  been  made  between  himself  and  the  young  Pastor, 
in  favour  of  the  latter.  He  said,  "I  am  not  surprised; 
when  that  church  was  formed,  I  took  Saint  John's 
motto  for  mine, — He  must  increase, — I  am  contented 
to  decrease." 

His  words  were  few  but  impressive  ;  his  incidental 
remarks  will  long  be  remembered,  and  have  helped  to 
form  the  characters  around  him.  A  person  has  often 
said  how  pleased  she  was  to  have  him  sanction  a  sen- 
timent that  dropped  hastily  from  her  lips.  She  had  a 
near  connection,  who  had  sunk  from  his  former  station 
in  life,  through  dissipated  habits.  A  relation  observed, 
— "  How  mortifying  to  have  him  in  such  a  low  scale  of 
society."  "  How  mortifying  to  have  him  so  wicked  !" 
was  the  rejoinder.     Dr.  McDowell   turned  to  the  last 

speaker  with  a  look    of  approbation.     "  Yes,  M.,  that 
22 


254  I 

ia  the  right  sentiment  —  the  vice  is  the  disgrace,  not 
the  station  in  society." 

He  was  very  prudent  and  delicate  in  his  intercourse 
with  others.  I  have  heard  him  say  how  well  he  knew 
the  strong  opposition  that  some  members  of  his  con- 
gregation, who  afterward  became  his  warm  friends,  felt 
for  him,  when  he  first  came  to  settle  in  Elizabeth- 
town.  They  did  not  find  Dr.  Kollock'^s  eloquence,  nor 
the  personal  elegance  and  fascinating  elocution  of  Mr.  ■ 
Austin,  in  their  young  successor.  But  he  took  no 
notice  of  any  apparent  opposition,  treated  the 
absentees  in  a  kind  and  friendly  manner,  and,  going 
on  in  his  own  quiet  and  unostentatious  way,  soon 
drew  them  all  back  to  the  church.  In  a  little 
while,  every  one  loved  him^  and  no  lip  opened  but  to 
speak  well  of  him.  He  said  that  he  did  not  care  par- 
ticularly for  praise,  ever,  but  that  he  once  heard  more  of 
it  than  he  could  well  bear.  He  was  once  dining  with 
a  large  company  in  New  York,  at  the  house  of  his 
friend,  Mr.  C.  Dubois,  when,  after  a  hard  ring  at  the 
door,  the  loud  voice  of  a  "bustling  Yankee"  was  heard 
above  the  clashing  of  knives  and  forks,  insisting  upon 
the  servant's  going  in  and  delivering  a  Prospectus  of 
Dr.  McDowell's  "Theological  Sermons"  to  the  gentle- 
man of  the  house.     When  the  servant  objected   to  dis- 


255 

turbing  him  at  dinner,  the  man  went  on  to  sny,  "  Tell 
him  he  must  subscribe  —  it's  the  greatest  work  of  the 
day,  and  worth  double  the  money  we  ask  for  it."  "  And 
I  and  the  company  sat  there,"  continued  the  Doctor, 
"  hearing  it  all,  and  I  wishing  myself  and  my  man  any 
where  else."  I  never  heard  this  told  but  once,  for  Dr. 
McDowell  talked  little  of  himself,  and  rarely  reiterated 
a  story. 

With  all  his  modesty,  he  had  great  consciousness  of 
power.  When  the  Misses  G.  came  to  open  a  school  in 
Elizabeth,  there  was  a  good  deal  of  opposition  from 
another  denomination  that  patronized  a  flourishing 
school  of  their  own.  Some  one  said,  "  another  school 
will  never  succeed."  I  remember  the  tone  of  voice, 
mild  as  the  breath  of  spring,  yet  firm  as  the  granite 
cliff,  in  which  Dr.  McDowell  replied,  —  "  She  will  suc- 
ceed, she  shall  succeed."  How  successful  the  experi- 
ment proved  we  all  know.  '^ 

He  accomplished  much  with  apparently  little  effort. 
An  old  servant  of  the  family  said, — "  New  preachers 
come,  everybody  goes  after  them ;  then  they  get  tired 
and  come  back  to  the  Doctor.  He  just  goes  steady 
on."  I  told  him  of  the  remark,  and  he  said, — "  Yes,  I 
never  go  very  fast, — just  steady  on,  as  C.  says." 

You  know  how  often  he  was  called  to  city  churches 


256 

while  Pastor  of  the  Elizabethtown  congregation. 
There  was  said  to  be  a  most  touching  scene  before 
the  Presbytery  after  a  call  from  the  Wall -Street 
Church  had  been  sent  to  him.  The  Session  and  some 
of  the  private  members  of  his  congregation  went  to 
protest  against  its  acceptance.  Mr.  Lenox,  who  was 
one  of  the  city  representation,  spoke  of  the  wants  of 
their  church;  their  membership  was  declining ;  their 
Communion  table  almost  deserted ;  their  social  meet- 
ings breaking  down.  They  wanted  a  man  of  Dr.  Mc- 
Dowell's spirit,  &c.,  &c.  Up  rose  a  poor  but  pious  man, 
named  Miller,  who  burst  forth, — "  He  wants  to  take  our 
minister  because  his  Communion  table  is  deserted,  and 
his  pews  vacant.  Let  him  ask  himself  the  reason. 
Isn't  it  because  of  their  own  worldly  spirit,  and  their 
want  of  prayer  ?  No,  Mr.  Moderator,  we  can't  give  up 
our  minister.  We  must  have  him  living  and  dead.  We 
want  him  to  lead  us  on  now ;  we  want  him  to  close  our 
eyes,  and  talk  to  us  of  Jesus  when  we're  dying;  and 
we  want  him  to  lie  with  us  in  the  same  church-yard 
so  that,  in  the  morning  of  the  resurrection,  we  may  ^; 
break  ground  together  and  go  up  one  united  body  to 
receive  the  welcome  of  the  Saviour."  I  have  given  but  a 
feeble  outline  of  the  speech  of  the  good  old  man.  They 
say  his  natural  eloquence  thrilled  the  whole  assembly. 


257 

I  have  never  known  such  powerful  and  general  revi- 
vals as  in  Dr.  McDowell's  congregation.  How  well  1 
remember  the  deep  silence,  the  almost  breathless  atten- 
tion that  used  to  pervade  the  congregation  when  he 
arose  to  speak  to  his  people  at  such  times.  The  church 
seemed  like  such  a  "  gate  of  Heaven "  to  my  young 
mind.  How  often  I  looked  at  its  beautiful  tapering 
spire,  rising  from  the  ancient  sycamores,  in  the  silence 
of  a  moonlight  night,  and  thought  what  a  sacred  place 
it  was.  We  children  learned  to  reverence  religious 
things  under  that  ministry.  1  remember,  on  one 
occasion,  that  about  eighty  persons  joined  the  church 
at  one  time.  I  believe  it  was  in  the  month  of  June — 
at  any  rate  it  was  a  delicious  summer's  day.  At  this 
distance  of  time  I  can  recall  the  rustle  of  the  trees 
outside  the  church,  and  the  mild,  soft  air  that  fanned 
us  from  the  open  window.  How  beautiful  earth 
seemed ;  how  near  was  Heaven  on  that  day.  They 
were  closely  united.  I  can  recall  the  words  read  at 
the  beginning  of  the  service  on  that  occasion.  Never 
has  the  60  th  of  Isaiah  appeared  as  impressive  and  beau- 
tiful to  me  as  then,  and  so  appropriate  it  was  to 
the  occasion.  I  said  so  to  the  Doctor  once,  and  in 
allusion  to  two  or  three  coloured  persons  who  were  of 

the  number,  he  said, — "  Yes,  and  another  prophecy  was 

*22 


258 

also  fulfilled — Ethiopia  shall  stretch  forth  her  hands 
unto  God."  Another  portion  of  Scripture  is  indelibly 
fixed  upon  my  mind  by  the  occasion  on  which  he  used 
it,  and  the  impressive  manner  in  which  it  was  read. 
There  was  a  sad  epidemic  prevailing,  which  proved 
fatal  to  several  female  members  of  the  congregation. 
One  Sunday  morning  at  that  time  the  bell  continued  to 
toll,  and  Dr.  McDowell  did  not  appear.  So  punctual 
were  his  habits  that  perhaps  he  did  not  vary  three^ 
minutes  in  the  time  of  his  appearance  at  church  in  the 
course  of  the  year.  He  invariably  left  his  house  at  the 
first  toll  of  the  bell.  All  were  struck  by  the  expres- 
sion of  his  face,  as  he  at  length  came  up  the  middle 
aisle,  with  many  folded  papers  in  his  hand,  which  we 
knew  were  requests  for  the  prayers  of  the  church. 
Mrs.  McDowell  was  with  him,  and  she  told  us,  weep- 
ing, that  they  had  just  come  from  the  bed-side  of  her 
friend  Mrs.  T ,  who  had  been  seized  with  the  epi- 
demic and  was  dying.  Before  the  prayer,  familiar 
Ones  were  named  as  being  apparently  near  to  death, 
all  young  and  useful  members  of  society  ;  then  came 
even  a  sadder  announcement"  prayers  for  friends  be- 
reaved suddenly  of  the  light  of  their  household.  In  a 
low,  solemn,  subdued  voice,  when  the  prayer  for  these 
suflferers  was  over,  our  Pastor  read, — "  0,  Lord,  I  have 


259 

heard  thy  speech  and  was  afraid.  I  saw  the  tents  of 
Cushan  in  affliction,  and  the  curtains  of  the  land  of 
Midian  did  tremble."  It  seemed  as  if  the  Prophet's 
own  voice  was  speaking  that  sublime  prayer  of  Habak- 
kuk's  on  that  solemn  day.  Then  he  alluded  touchingly 
to  what  was  passing  around  us.  He  always  improved 
passing  events,  ever  watching  "  the  signs  of  the  times," 
both  in  his  congregation  and  in  the  political  horizon. 

Thus,  my  dear  Sir,  I  have  given  you  some  unconnec- 
ted recollections  of  my  good  brother,  to  use  as  you 
"like.     Perhaps  they  will  be  of  no  use  ;  perhaps  some  of 
them  may  help  to  illustrate  some  trait  of  his  character. 
Very  truly  yours, 

L.  A.  HOLDICH. 


MEMOIR 


OF    THE 


Rev. WILLIAM  A.  McDOWELL,  D.  D. 


MEMOIR 


OF    THE 


Rev.  WILLIAM  A.  McDOWELL,  D.  D. 


CHAPTER   I. 

His  Life. 
William  Anderson  McDowell,  a  younger  brother 
of  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  McDowell,  was  born  in  Laming- 
ton,  N.  J.,  on  the  15th  of  May,  1789.  He  spent  his 
very  early  years  at  home,  dividing  his  time  between 
the  labours  of  the  farm  and  the  advantages  of  the 
common  school.  At  the  age  of  about  thirteen  or  four- 
teen, he  attended  a  Grammar  School  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, and  subsequently  a  school  at  Elizabethtown, 
taught  by  Mr.  (now  the  Rev.  Dr.)  Henry  Mills.  He 
joined  the  Junior  Class  in  the  College  of  New  Jersey  in 
1807,  and  graduated  in  1809,  having,  throughout  his 
whole  course,  maintained  an  excellent  reputation  for 
both  scholarship  and  behaviour. 


264 

In  the  spring  of  1810,  he  went  to  live  with  the  Rev. 
Dr.  WoodhuU,  of  Freehold,  as  his  brother  had  done 
before  him,  as  a  student  of  Theology ;  and  in  June  of 
that  year,  he  placed  himself  under  the  care  of  the 
Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick,  as  a  candidate  for  the 
ministry.  Here  he  found,  in  the  main,  a  congenial 
element,  and  devoted  himself  to  his  studies  with  much 
zeal,  withdrawing,  meanwhile,  in  a  great  measure,  from 
society,  that  he  might  attend  the  more  diligently  to 
the  culture  of  not  only  his  mind,  but  especially  his 
heart.  Not  only  for  Dr.  Woodhull  himself,  but  for  his 
family,  he  seems  to  have  formed  a  very  strong  attach- 
ment; and,  though  his  actual  residence  with  them  was 
short,  his  attachment  to  them  was  enduring.  Though 
his  letters  at  this  period  breathe  a  spirit  of  fervent 
piety,  he  was  not  a  little  troubled  with  doubts  in  re- 
spect to  his  own  spiritual  state ;  and,  after  reading 
Edwards  on  the  Affections,  he  for  a  time  well  nigh 
yielded  to  the  conviction  that  he  had  never  been  the 
subject  of  a  truly  religious  experience.  He  was,  how- 
ever, gradually  relieved,  in  great  measure,  from  these 
painful  apprehensions,  and  his  faith  was  generally  so 
much  in  the  ascendant  as  to  render  him  a  peaceful  and 
happy  Christian.  When  he  was  examined  on  experi- 
mental religion,  with  a  view  to  admission  to  the  Pres-  1 


265 

bytery,  it  was  in  the  presence  not  only  of  the  Presby- 
tery itself,  but  of  as  many  people  as  could  sit  in  the 
church  in  which  the  meeting  was  held.  The  conse- 
quence was  that  he  found  himself  greatly  confused  and 
embarrassed  ;  and  he  afterwards  expressed  the  confi- 
dent conviction  that  such  examinations,  in  order  to  the 
accomplishment  of  their  legitimate  object,  should  be 
conducted  in  a  more  private  way. 

Notwithstanding  Mr.  McDowell  found  his  residence 
at  Freehold  both  pleasant  and  profitable  to  him,  he  re- 
mained there  for  only  a  brief  period  :  in  November, 
1810,  he  became  a  Tutor  in  Princeton  College,  and 
continued  in  that  relation  until  September  of  the  next 
year,  pursuing  his  theological  studies  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Stanhope  Smith,  then 
President  of  the  College.  His  health  having  become 
delicate,  he  resolved  to  try  the  efi'ect  of  a  Southern 
climate,  and,  accordingly,  in  November,  he  sailed  for 
Savannah,  the  residence  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kollock, 
whose  sister  Mr.  McDowell  afterwards  married.  Under 
the  direction  of  this  eloquent  divine,  he  resumed  his 
theological  studies,  and  continued  them  until  the  next 
spring.     Here  he  had  great  satisfaction  in  having  for 

s 

a  companion  in  his  studies  Mr.    (now   the  Rev.  Dr.) 

Thomas  H.  Skinner,  whom  he  had  previously  known  at 
23 


! 


266 

Elizabethtown,  and  with  whom  he  formed  a  very  close 
and  enduring  intimacy.  A  revival  of  religion  took 
place  in  Dr.  Kollock's  congregation  during  his  sojourn 
there,  and  Mr.  McDowell,  at  Dr.  K's  suggestion,  took 
an  active  part  in  it,  even  to  delivering  exhortations  to 
large  assemblages  in  the  church — which  he  seems  to 
have  thought  approached  too  near  to  an  invasion  of 
the  clerical  prerogative,  though  he  found  an  apology 
for  it  in  the  urgency  of  the  case.  After  making  a  visit, 
with  his  friend  Mr.  Skinner,  to  Sunbury,  where  he 
found  very  pleasant  society,  and  spent  a  few  days 
much  to  his  satisfaction,  he  left  Savannah  on  the  6th 
of  April,  1812,  accompanied  by  Mr.  S.,  and,  after  stop- 
ping a  little  in  North  Carolina,  proceeded  Northward 
to  his  native  State. 

As  early  as  the  month  of  June,  he  seems  to  have 
resumed  his  theological  studies  at  Princeton,  and  as 
the  Seminary  went  into  operation  in  August  of  that 
year,  he  became  connected  with  it  shortly  after,  his 
name  appearing  as  the  fifth  on  the  catalogue.  The  fol- 
lowing letter,  addressed  to  his  brother,  the  Rev.  John 
McDowell,  is  interesting  from  its  relation  to  the  Semi- 
nary while  it  was  yet  in  its  infancy. 


267 

Princeton,  December  2,  1812. 
My  Dear  Brother: 

I  fear  you  will  begin  to  think,  from  my  long  silence,  that  I 
have  forgotten  you  ;  but  it  is  the  press  of  business  alone  that 
has  prevented  my  writing.  From  early  in  the  m(*rning  until 
late  at  night  I  am  constantly  engaged  ;  and  to  be  able  to 
write  even  now,  I  am  under  the  necessity  of  being  absent  from 
recitation.  My  recitations  with  the  class  to  Dr.  Alexander 
take  up  most  of  my  time.  We  recite  every  day,  and  our  re- 
citations are  unusually  long  and  difficult  ;  and  to  accomplish 
the  object  I  have  in  view  in  spending  the  winter  here, — 
namely,  to  prepare  myself  to  take  license  in  the  spring,  I  have 
to  apply  myself  with  very  great  diligence.  My  being  clerk 
also  to  the  Theological  Society,  which  now  meets  twice  each 
week,  adds  considerably  to  the  amount  of  my  labour.  So 
you  will  be  able  to  judge  how  much  I  have  upon  my  hands, 
and  will  readily  forgive  me  if  I  should  not,  during  the  winter, 
write  as  frequently  as  I  have  been  in  the  habit  of  doing. 

The  number  of  theological  students,  since  the  commence- 
ment of  the  session,  has  increased.  Nine  is  our  present  num- 
ber, and  we  are  in  expectation  of  more.  Dr.  Alexander  de- 
votes most  of  his  time  to  us.  We  all  love  him,  and  often 
render  our  united  thanks  to  God  that  He  ever  put  it  into  the 
hearts  of  the  members  of  the  Assembly  to  appoint  him  to  the 
Professorship.  He  is  certainly  one  of  the  best  and  most  ex- 
emplary of  men,  and  I  do  not  think  a  more  judicious  choice 
could  have  been  made.  The  students  are  excellent  young 
men.  We  meet  together  three  evenings  in  the  week  for  so- 
cial prayer  and  reading  the  Scriptures.  Our  meetings  are 
all  very  solemn,  and  I  think  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when 
God  will  revive  his  work  in  this  place.  There  are  too  many 
fervent  prayers  offered  up  here,  not  to  be  answered.  In  col- 
lege we  have  many  new  regulations,  and  much  more  order 
than  formerly.  Dr.  Green's  popularity  has  been  considerably 
increased  by  his  having  adopted  it  as  a  rule  to  invite  eight, 
each  week,  out  of  the  Senior  Class,  to  dine  with  him.     An  im- 


268 

portant  change  has  been  effected  in  the  prayer-hall, — the  ser- 
vices being  marked  by  a  much  deeper  solemnity  than  formerly. 
Dr.  Green  has  introduced  singing  in  the  morning,  and  the 
students  appear  pleased  with  it. 

Your  affectionate  brother, 

w.  A.  McDowell. 

Mr.  McDowell  continued  his  connection  with  the 
Seminary  until  May,  1813,  having  been  licensed  to 
preach  by  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick  on  the 
28th  of  April,  preceding.  He  accepted  an  invitation 
to  preach  to  the  congregation  at  Bound  Brook ;  the 
result  of  which  was,  that  they  gave  him  a  call  to 
become  their  Pastor,  which  also  he  accepted.  He  was 
ordained  and  installed  Pastor  of  that  church  by  the 
same  Presbytery  which  had  licensed  him,  on  the  22d  of 
December  following  ;  and  about  the  same  time  was 
married  to  Miss  Jane  Kollock,  daughter  of  Shepard 
Kollock,  Esq.,  of  Elizabethtown.  His  connection  with 
the  congregation  at  Bound  Brook  continued  less  than  a 
year.  It  was  dissolved  on  the  19th  of  October,  1814:; 
and,  on  the  15th  of  the  next  December,  he  was  installed 
Pastor  of  the  church  at  Morristown,  N.  J.  He  had 
previously  declined  a  call  from  the  church  in  Flem- 
ington. 

His  ministry  at  Morristown  was  alike  highly  accepta- 
ble and  highly  useful.     He  enjoyed,  in  a  very  unusual 


269 

degree,  the  affection  and  confidence  of  his  people,  while 
he,  in  turn,  was  steadily  and  perseveringly  devoted  to 
their  best  interests.  But  it  was  not  very  long  before 
his  health  became  so  much  impaired  as  to  threaten  the 
disruption  of  the  tie  that  bound  him  to  his  flock. 
When  he  was  twelve  years  of  age,  he  suffered  severely 
from  the  small  pox,  and  never  afterwards  entirely 
recovered  from  the  effect  of  it ;  but  in  the  autumn  of 
1822,  he  was  so  seriously  threatened  with  a  pulmonary 
affection  that  it  was  thought  expedient  that  he  should 
try  the  effect  of  a  milder  climate.  Accordingly,  with 
the  consent  of  his  congregation,  he  journeyed  South 
as  far  as  Charleston.  S.  C,  where  he  passed  the  winter. 
The  effect  upon  his  physical  system  was  altogether 
invigorating ;  and  when  he  returned  in  the  Spring,  his 
health  seemed  adequate  to  the  amount  of  labour  which 
he  had  been  accustomed  to  perform.  It  was  not  long, 
however,  before  he  relapsed  into  the  feeble  state  from 
which  he  had  emerged.  About  this  time  he  received  a 
call  to  become  the  Pastor  of  a  Presbyterian  church  in 
Charleston,  S.  C.  ;  and,  notwithstanding  his  reluctance 
to  leave  a  congregation  to  whom  he  was  so  much 
attached,  and  among  whom  he  had  laboured  so  pleas- 
antly and  so  successfully,  he  could  not  resist  the  con- 
viction that  it  was  his  duty,  in  view  of  the  probable 
*23 


270 

effect  of  a  permanent  residence  in  the  South  upon  his 
health,  to  make  the  proposed  removal.  He  therefore 
accepted  the  call,  and  his  pastoral  relation  at  Morris- 
town  was  dissolved  on  the  8th  of  October,  1823. 

He  was  installed  by  the  Charleston  Union  Presby- 
tery on  the  3d  of  December,  1823.  Every  thing  in 
connection  with  his  introduction  here  gave  promise  of 
•extensive  usefulness.  The  congregation,  of  which  he 
^assumed  the  pastoral  charge,  received  him  with  great 
•cordiality  and  kindness,  and  he  found,  not  only  in  his 
'Own  flock  but  among  his  brethren  in  the  ministry,  an 
^efficient  co-operation  for  the  advancement  of  the  great 
interests  of  Christ's  Kingdom.  The  following  letter, 
addressed  to  his  brother  about  three  years  after  his 
settlement  in  Charleston,  shows  that,  in  removing  to 
the  South,  he  had  not  got  out  of  the  range  of  what  his 
heart  delighted  in  so  much, — powerful  revivals  of 
religion. 

Cpiarleston,  December  11,  1826. 
My  Dear  Brother  : 

On  my  return  from  the  meeting"  of  our  Synod,  two  or  three 
days  since,  I  received  the  copy  of  your  System  of  Theology, 
which  you  have  been  so  kind  as  to  send  me,  and  for  which 
please  to  accept  my  warmest  thanks.  The  work  has  circu- 
lated considerably  here,  and  I  think  has  been  useful.  I  have 
read  a  part  of  it,  and  with  much  more  than  ordinary  interest. 
My  impression  is  that  it  will  do  good  ;  and  that,  I  think,  is 
the  best  test  of  merit. 


271 

Our  Synod  has  just  closed  a  most  interesting  session.  They 
met  at  Washington  in  Georgia,  The  Lord  had  prepared  the 
ground  for  us  by  commencing  in  that  place,  before  we  met,  a 
revival  of  his  work.  A  most  powerful  impulse  was  given  to 
the  work  by  the  meeting  of  the  brethren  ;  and  more  interest- 
ing scenes  than  were  witnessed  there,  I  think  have  seldom 
passed  under  my  eye.  In  several  places  in  the  upper  part  of 
Georgia  interesting  revivals  are  now  in  progress.  In  the 
University  of  Georgia,  at  Athens,  the  Lord  has  been  doing  a 
great  work.  Nearly  thirty  of  the  students  are  hopefully 
subjects  of  grace  ;  and  more  than  fifty  are  under  deep  im- 
pressions. As  ministers  are  so  much  wanted  in  this  country, 
this  is  a  work  of  deep  interest  to  the  friends  of  Zion.  I 
have  just  heard  also  of  a  revival  having  commenced  in  the 
interior  of  the  State,  in  a  very  destitute  region,  under  the 
preaching  of  one  of  our  missionaries.  The  Lord  is  doing 
great  tilings  for  us,  whereof  we  are  glad.  The  Narrative  of 
the  State  of  Religion  within  our  bounds  will  soon  be  pub- 
lished, and  I  will  take  care  that  a  copy  is  forwarded  to  you. 

In  our  churches  here  there  is  nothing  special.  Evangelical 
religion,  however,  is,  I  think,  daily  gaining  ground,  and  the 
same  is  true  of  Presbyterianism.  We  expect,  in  the  course 
of  one  or  two  weeks,  to  commence  the  publication  of  a  Pres- 
byterian newspaper.  I  will  send  you  the  first  number  as  soon 
as  it  appears. 

Our  family  are  in  good  health,  and  not  one  of  our  number 
has  sufiered  in  the  least  from  sickness  during  the  season. 
My  own  health  also  is  quite  good.  I  kept  up  most  of  the  re- 
gular public  seivices  during  the  warm  season,  and  suffered 
little  inconvenience  from  it. 

With  love  to  all,  I  am 

Your  attached  brother, 

WILLIAM  A.  McDowell. 

In  1827,  he  was  honoured  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity  from  Franklin  College,  Georgia.     In  1832,  he 


272 

was  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  ;  and  the  same 
year  was  chosen  Professor  in  the  Theological  Seminary 
at  Columbia,  S.  C.  He  had  taken  a  deep  interest  in 
that  institution  from  its  foundation,  and  had  done  more 
than  any  other  man  to  sustain  and  advance  its  inter- 
ests ;  but  he  could  not  be  persuaded  that  the  indica- 
tions of  Providence  were  in  favour  of  his  accepting  a 
Professorship.  The  following  letter  to  his  brother  at 
Elizabethtown  will  be  read  with  interest,  not  merely 
for  its  historical  details  in  reference  to  his  connection 
with  the  Seminary,  but  on  account  of  the  allusion  which 
it  makes  to  the  then  threatening  aspect  of  public  affairs 
in  the  South. 

Charleston,  January  2,  1833. 
My  Dear  Brother; 

Yours  of  the  24rth  ult.  I  received  a  day  or  two  since,  and 
sincerely  thank  you  for  it.  At  all  times  letters  from  my 
friends  are  gratefully  welcomed  by  me  ;  but,  at  the  present 
eventful  moment,  when  our  countr}^  is  so  much  agitated,  and 
such  strange  events  are  daily  occurring,  it  is. especially  gra- 
tifying to  me  to  hear  frequently  from  those  I  love.  And  not- 
withstanding I  have  now  lived  more  than  nine  years  in  the 
South,  and  have  formed  many  strong  and  tender  attachments 
here,  and  am  regarded  in  fact  as  a  Southern  man,  I  have  not 
lost  a  particle  of  my  Northern  feeling,  and  every  thing  that 
bears  the  stamp  of  the  North  is  still  as  dear  to  me  as  when  I 
was  living  in  your  neighbourhood. 

As  for  the  Professorship,  you  will  have  learned  from  the 
newspapers,  before  this  reaches  you,  that  I  have  declined  ac- 
cepting it.     Could  I  have  taken  counsel  of  my  own  feelings, 


273 

I  would  not  have  hesitated  an  hour  ;  and  indeed  I  told  both 
the  Board  and  the  Synod,  when  the  appointment  was  made, 
that  I  could  not  accept.  For  two  years  past,  they  have  been 
urging  me  to  take  a  Professorship,  but  I  have  never  given  the 
least  encouragement  that  I  would  consent  to  it.  The  Semi- 
nary is  now  becoming  very  important — it  has  about  twenty 
students  ;  and  it  seems  to  be,  under  God,  the  great  hope  of 
the  Southern  churches.  From  the  first,  no  small  part  of  the 
burden  of  raising  and  supporting  it  has  devolved  upon  me. 
The  Synod  determined  to  appoint  me  Professor  of  Theology, 
and  throw  on  me  the  responsibility  of  saying  yea  or  nay,  after 
the  appointment  was  made  ;  and  they  placed  it  pretty  much 
on  this  ground, — that  I  must  consent  to  go  or  the  Seminary 
would  probably  fail.  Indeed  several  important  pledges  were 
made,  on  condition  of  my  accepting  the  place.  It  was  under 
such  circumstances  that  I  felt  constrained  to  take  the  matter 
into  consideration.  But,  after  the  most  careful  and  painful 
and  prayerful  deliberation,  I  found  it  impossible  to  bring  my 
mind  to  accept,  and  I  accordingly  declined. 

You  express  great  anxiety  that  I  should  leave  the  South, 
and  once  more  make  my  home  in  the  North.  I  thank  you  for 
your  kind  interest  in  my  welfare,  and  I  will  certainly  tell  you 
my  whole  heart  on  the  subject,  I  should  have  no  fears  on  the 
score  of  my  health  about  going  North,  as  I  am  now  quite  well, 
and  able,  as  I  believe,  to  endure  a  Northern  winter.  And  the 
state  of  things  here  I  confess  is  truly  alarming.  Should  the 
present  crisis  pass  without  a  convulsion,  I  do  not  see  that 
there  is  any  security  in  respect  to  the  future — there  is  so 
much  combustible  matter  here  that  an  explosion  may  take 
place  at  any  moment.  I  do  feel  that  there  is  an  awful  cloud 
hanging  over  the  South,  and  particularly  over  South  Carolina, 
which,  at  some  day,  not  far  distant,  must  burst ;  and  what 
will  follow  God  only  knows.  And  should  I  ever  remove  fi'om 
Charleston,  I  should  not  think  of  locating  myself  again  in 
any  part  of  the  South.  But,  at  the  same  time,  the  excitement 
produced  by  my  appointment  as  Professor  would  indicate 


2Y4 

that  I  should  probably  find  it  a  very  painful  business  to  leave 
Charleston.  And  so  involved  have  I  become  in  the  concerns 
of  the  Church  throughout  the  two  States  of  South  Carolina 
and  Georgia,  and  so  intimately  connected  with  the  churches 
here,  that  perhaps  in  no  other  place  could  I  exert  the  same 
amount  of  influence,  or  have  the  same  facilities  for  doins:  s:ood. 
At  present  all  is  quiet  in  our  city,  and  there  seems  to  be  some 
hope  that  we  may  yet  escape  a  war.  But  we  know  not  what 
a  day  may  bring  forth.  Should  we  be  all  spared  until  spring, 
I  expect  to  visit  the  North,  and  to  attend  the  meeting  of  the 
General  Assembly. 

Let  me  hear  from  you  soon.  I  cannot  tell  you  how  cheering 
your  letters  are  to  me. 

Your  aflFectionate  brother, 

WILLIAM  A.  McDowell. 

As  Dr.  McDowell  had  been  Moderator  of  the  General 
Assembly,  the  preceding  year,  it  devolved  upon  him  to 
preach  the  Opening  Sermon  at  the  next  meeting  ;  and, 
accordingly,  he  left  Charleston,  with  his  family,  tow- 
ards the  close  of  April,  1833,  not  more  to  discharge 
his  duty  at  the  Assembly  than  to  give  himself  a  season 
of  relaxation  for  the  benefit  of  his  health.  The  follow- 
ing extract  from  a  letter  addressed  to  his  brother, 
shortly  before  he  left  Charleston,  shows  what  was  then 
the  state  of  his  mind  in  connection  with  the  first  devel- 
opments of  the  great  controversy,  which,  for  several 
years,  agitated,  and  finally  rent  asunder,  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church. 


275 

"  I  hope  we  may  have  a  pleasant  and  profitable  meeting  of 
the  Assembly  ;  though  some  letters  have  been  received  here 
expressing  fears  that  it  may  be  a  season  of  considerable  agi- 
tation. In  this  part  of  the  Church,  we  know  so  little  of  the 
troubles  at  the  centre,  that  we  can  hardly  believe  that  there 
is  any  real  danger  ;  and  for  one  I  am  not  only  disposed  for 
peace,  but  inclined  to  do  all  I  can  to  put  down  the  violent  and 
headstrong,  on  whatever  side  they  may  be  found.  And  I 
cannot  but  hope  that  there  are  among  the  ministers  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  a  sufficient  number  who  love  the  Jruth 
and  the  order  of  the  Church,  and  who,  with  meekness,  but 
firmness,  will  frown  on  every  effort  to  produce  jealousies  and 
divisions.  May  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  be  with  us  to  influence 
and  guide  us  in  all  our  deliberations  and  decisions." 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Assembly  above  referred  to,  Dr. 
McDowell  was  appointed  Secretary  of  the  Board  of 
Domestic  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  This 
appointment  he  thought  it  his  duty  to  accept,  and  did 
accept ;  though  at  the  expense  of  abandoning  a  field  of 
labour  in  which  he  had  been  eminently  useful,  and  seem- 
ed to  be  still  greatly  needed,  as  well  as  of  sundering 
the  tie  which  bound  him  to  a  most  affectionate  and  de- 
voted congregration.  He  returned  to  Charleston  shortly 
after  the  sessions  of  the  Assembly  closed,  and,  to  the 
great  regret  of  his  pastoral  charge,  secured  a  regular 
release  from  them,  and  then  made  his  way  to  Philadel- 
phia, and  early  in  the  autumn  commenced  his  labours 
as  Secretary  of  the  Board. 


276 

Dr.  McDowell,  by  his  great  wisdom,  conscientious- 
ness and  diligence,  quickly  proved  himself  abundantly 
qualified  for  the  place  to  which  he  was  now  introduced. 
His  labours  were  exceedingly  arduous,  and  his  health, 
during  much  of  the  time,  materially  impaired  ;  and  yet 
his  zeal  so  far  triumphed  over  his  physical  infirmities 
that  few  men  ha\  e  occupied  a  similar  place  with  greater 
efficiency.  The  year  after  he  entered  upon  his  Secreta- 
ryship, he  had  occasion,  in  the  discharge  of  his  official 
duties,  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  South,  and  the  welcome 
which  he  met  from  his  former  charge  was  not  only 
grateful  but  jubilant.  It  was  delightful  to  him  to  per- 
ceive that  their  affection  for  him  had  not  even  begun  to 
wane  ;  while  it  occasioned  him  deep  regret  that  the 
place  which  he  had  vacated,  as  their  Pastor,  more  than 
a  year  before,  had  not  yet  been  filled.  He  seems  to 
have  had  some  serious  difficulties  to  encounter,  during 
this  visit,  in  connection  with  his  particular  object, — 
the  cause  of  Missions  ;  and  in  one  of  his  letters  he 
writes  that  it  will  require  all  the  wisdom  he  can  get 
from  Heaven  and  earth  to  meet  them  successfully — 
what  they  were  does  not  clearly  appear ;  though  they 
do  not  seem  to  have  occasioned  him  any  long  continued 
embarrassment. 

Dr.  McDowell  suffered,  for  many  years,  from  an  affec- 


277 

tion  of  the  throat,  which  rendered  speaking,  especially 
in  public,  a  very  difficult  exercise  to  him.  His  hearing 
also  gradually  became  so  much  affected  that  it  was  irk- 
some to  him  to  engage  in  much  conversation.  In  the 
summer  of  1840,  he  visited  the  Warm  Springs,  and 
afterwards  the  Hot  Springs,  of  Virginia,  and,  at  the 
latter,  particularly,  he  experienced  considerable  im- 
provement in  his  general  health,  and  at  least  some 
temporary  relief  from  his  deafness  ;  and  he  expressed 
the  opinion  that,  if  his  official  duties  would  have  al- 
lowed him  to  give  the  waters  a  more  tliorough  trial,  he 
should  have  received  a  proportionally  greater  benefit 
from  them.  How  much  his  heart  was  in  his  work, 
even  in  his  seasons  of  greatest  relaxation,  may  be 
inferred  from  the  following  extract  of  a  letter  to  his 
brother,  dated  Hot  Springs,  August  21,  1840. 

"  I  feel  quite  anxious  to  be  in  the  office  again,  and  know 
liow  matters  are  gettijig  on.  I  find  it  no  easy  thing  to  rid 
myself  of  anxiety — indeed  I  am  too  deepljMnterestcd  in  the 
great  cause  to  banish  it  from  my  mind  for  a  single  hour. 
While  rambling  over  these  mountains,  solitary  and  alone,  my 
mind  has  been  dwelling  on  the  magnitude  of  the  object  which 
<mr  Board  contemplates.  This  is  a  great  and  growing  coun- 
try, destined,  I  am  persuaded,  to  be  the  main  instrument,  in 
tlie  Lord's  hands,  for  the  conversion  of  a  world  ;  and  how  im- 
portant is  it  to  the  destinies  of  unborn  millions  that  a  Gospel 
influence  should  pervade  the  whole  population  of  this  land  I 
Had  I  the  power  of  hearing  and  speaking,  as  I  once  had,  me- 
24 


278 

thinks  I  should  rejoice  to  spend  a  year  in  visiting  all  portions 
of  our  Church,  and  rousing  them  to  vigorous  action  in  some 
measure  suited  to  the  almost  incomprehensible  magnitude  of 
the  mighty  object." 

Towards  the  close  of  the  same  year  (1840),  Dr.  Mc- 
Dowell made  a  tour  still  farther  South,  in  aid  of  the 
interests  of  the  Board,  and,  while  in  South  Carolina, 
attended  a  meeting  of  Synod,  which  led  him,  shortly 
after,  to  address  to  his  brother  the  following  letter : 

Charleston,  December  4,  1840. 
My  Dear  Be<ither  : 

On  our  arrival  here,  I  wrote  you  a  few  lines,  which  T  hope 
you  received.  The  next  morning  we  left  Charleston  for  Au- 
gusta, where  we  spent  the  night  ;  and  Saturday  morning, 
November  21st,  we  went  to  Beach  Island,  seven  miles  from 
Augusta,  on  the  Savannah  river.  We  had  a  very  pleasant 
meeting  of  our  Presbytery,  and,  after  its  adjournment,  we  re- 
turned to  Augusta  to  meet  the  Synod.  The  Synod  was  unu- 
sually full,  and  the  meeting  was  one  of  the  most  interesting 
we  have  ever  had.  Several  subjects  of  unusual  interest  came 
up  for  consideration,  and  occasioned  much  animated  discus- 
sion ;  chief  among  which  was  the  whole  subject  of  Boards 

and  Agencies  in  the  operations  of  the  Church.  Brother  C 

and  Brother  T had  come  well  prepared  to  overthrow  the 

whole  system  ;  and  each  of  these  luminaries  having  a  number 
of  smaller  lights  revolving  around  them,  and  influenced  by 
them,  they  had  mustered  their  whole  host,  and  I  believe  really 
supposed  they  could  carry  the  subject  triumphantly  through; 
but  they  were  met  Vv^ith  firmness  and  completely  discomfited-. 
The  discussion  occupied  two  days — the  second  day  until  about 
eleven  o'clock,  p.  m.  The  house  was  filled  to  overflowing  by 
the  people  of  Augusta,  and  the  interest  was  intense  and  gen- 


279 

eral.  The  principal  speakers  on  the  one  side  were  Messrs. 
C.  and  T. — on  the  other  Mr.  L.  made  one  or  two  excellent 
speeches  ;  Mr.  S.  of  Charleston  was  clear,  forcible  and  con- 
clusive ;  and  your  brother,  deaf  as  he  is,  spoke  at  one  time, 
about  an  hour  and  a  half.  The  question  was  taken  by  yeas 
and  nays.  The  revolutionists  had  seven  votes,  and  the  other 
side, — that  is,  those  in  favour  of  the  Boards,  about  fifty.  The 
effect  of  the  discussion  has  been  most  salutary.  There  was 
much  ignorance  and  great  apathy  on  this  whole  subject  in 
this  portion  of  the  Church,  and  indeed  many  strong  prejudices 
— the  result  has  been  that  light  has  been  communicated,  pre- 
judices removed,  ministers  and  elders  roused  to  increased  ex- 
ertion, and  a  new  impulse  given  to  the  whole  cause.  We  all 
rejoiced  in  the  opportunity  which  the  discussion  afforded  of 
bringing  the  several  Boards  prominently  before  the  Synod. 
Several  other  important  subjects  were  introduced,  which  led 
to  much  animated  discussion  ;  but  the  best  feeling  prevailed, 
and  it  was  delightful  to  find  that  we  could  differ  on  important 
subjects,  and  discuss  freel}'',  and  warml}',  and  still,  in  the  best 
sense,  be  perfectly  harmonious.  During  our  meeting,  my 
time  was  much  occupied  with  the  business  of  the  Synod,  and 
particularly  of  the  Theological  Seminary.  As  I  was  one  of 
the  Directors  of  the  Seminary  whose  time  of  service  expired 
at  this  meeting,  I  begged  to  be  left  off  the  nomination,  as  I 
could  not  hear  their  discussions  ;  but  my  wish  was  not  com- 
plied with,  and  I  was  re-elected.  The  Domestic  Missionary 
cause,  I  find,  is  almost  entirely  prostrate  here — they  are  in 
debt  for  the  few  missionaries  they  have,  and  are  literally  doing 
nothing.  I  did  what  I  could  in  Synod  to  rouse  them,  and  I 
hope  not  without  some  effect.  They  have  agreed  hereafter  to  act 
with  and  through  the  Board  ;  and  to  help  set  them  in  motion, 
I  have  agreed  to  spend  two  or  three  weeks  in  Georgia,  and 
visit  Augusta,  Athens,  Washington,  Greensboro'  and  Macon  ; 
and  this  will  detain  me  longer  than  I  intended  from  the  oflSce 
— but  the  case  seems  imperatively  to  demand  it ;  and  as  I 
am  now  here,  I  suppose  the  Committee  would  prefer  that  I 


280 

should  take  one  or  even  two  weeks  more  than  I  anticipated, 
in  order  to  do  the  work  as  cifectually  as  I  can.  My  brethren 
of  the  Board  may  rest  assured  that  I  shall  not  spend  a  day  iu 
idleness,  nor  remain  an  hour  after  my  work  is  done.  My 
deafness  is  a  sore  trial  to  me  in  this  important  business,  but 
through  the  Divine  goodness,  I  have  got  along  much  better 
than  I  expected.  Your  attached  brother, 

w.  A.  McDowell. 

Though  Dr.  McDowell's  infirmities  were  all  the  time 
rather  gaining  upon  him,  he  still  continued  his  labours 
with  little  or  no  abatement,  not  only  discharging  with 
great  fidelity  his  duties  at  the  office,  but  visiting  many 
of  the  more  important  churches,  and  bringing  his 
object  very  e£fectively  to  their  attention  and  patronage. 
In  1847,  he  had  .become  so  feeble  that  he  signified  his 
desire  and  intention  to  resign  his  office;  but  yielded  to 
urgent  solicitations  not  to  do  it  at  that  time.  In  the 
spring  of  1850,  however,  such  was  the  state  of  his 
health  that  he  found  it  imperative  to  withdraw  from 
all  active  service,  and  he  accordingly  tendered  his 
resignation,  which  was  accepted  very  reluctantly, 
though  with  a  deep  sense  of  the  Church's  obligation 
to  him  for  his  long  continued  and  most  important  ser- 
vices. 

Dr.  McDowell,  feeling  that  he  had  now  nearly  closed 
his  earthly  labours,  turned  his  eyes  towards  t..t;  home 
of  his  early  years  as  the  spot  where  he  would  like  to 


281     • 

spend  the  little  of  life  that  remained  to  him.  Accord- 
ingly, shortly  after  the  resignation  of  his  office,  he  re- 
moved from  Philadelphia  to  Lamington,  and  settled 
down  amidst  the  scene  of  his  early  remembrances  and 
associations.  But  it  was  impossible  that,  with  such  a 
spirit  as  he  possessed,  he  could  do  otherwise  than 
labour  still  up  to  the  full  measure  of  his  ability.  He 
spent  the  summer  of  1850  at  his  "Retreat,"  in  Lam- 
ington, preaching  occasionally,  as  his  health  would 
permit,  and  dividing  his  time  chiefly  between  his  pen, 
his  books,  and  his  friends.  On  hearing  of  the  death  of 
Dr.  Cuyler,  with  whom  he  had  long  been  in  the  most 
intimate  relations,  he  writes  thus  to  his  brother : — 

"  The  death  of  our  excellent  brother,  Dr.  Cnyler,  is  a  so- 
lemn, and,  in  some  of  its  aspects,  a  sad  event.  After  what  I 
had  heard  of  his  illness,  I  was  somewhat  prepared  for  a  fatal 
result.  I  find  it  difficult  to  realize  that  he  is  gone,  and  that  I 
shall  see  his  face  no  more.  He  was  indeed  an  excellent  bro- 
ther, and  possessed  some  noble  traits  of  character.  I  saw 
him  oft,  and  knew  him  well,  and  loved  him  much.  God  has 
called  him  away  at  a  time  when  we  looked  not  for  it,  but 
God's  time  is  always  the  best.  May  his  death  be  sanctified 
to  his  brethren  who  are  left  on  earth  a  little  longer.  Truly, 
my  dear  bi'other,  what  we  do  for  the  souls  of  our  fellow  crea- 
tures must  be  done  quickly.  However  short  may  be  the  time 
that  remaineth  to  us,  the  work  we  j'et  have  to  do  is  great, 
and  we  have  not  a  moment  to  lose.  Oh  the  infinite  value  of 
each  passing  hour  !  The  Lord  help  us  to  be  diligent  and 
faithful." 

*24 


282 

In  the  autumn  of  this  year  (1850),  Dr.  DcDowell, 
accompanied  by  Mrs.  McDowell,  made  his  last 
visit  to  his  friends  in  the  South,  in  the  hope  that 
his  health  might  be  benefited  by  that  more  genial 
climate.  They  were  received  by  their  friends  in 
Charleston  with  the  warmest  demonstrations  of 
affectionate  regard,  and,  in  compliance  with  their 
urgent  solicitations,  they  remained  somewhat  longer 
than  they  had  intended.  Tlie  people  of  his  former 
>charge  were  permitted  once  more  to  enjoy  a  privilege 
which  they  highly  prized, — that  of  hearing  his  voice  in 
•the  pulpit.  For  some  time  after  his  arrival  in  Charles- 
ton, his  health  seemed  somewhat  improved  ;  but  before 
leaving  the  place,  he  was  attacked  with  a  chronic  aifec- 
tion  of  the  bowels,  which  greatly  reduced  liis  strength, 
and  threatened  a  fatal  issue.  He  also  became  deeply 
impressed,  during  this  visit,  with  the  delicate  and  peril- 
ous relations  existing  between  North  and  South,  and, 
in  one  of  his  letters,  ventured  a  prediction  of  which 
the  fearful  scenes  of  the  present  day  are  nothing  more 
than  a  fulfilment.  Though  he  spent  most  of  the  win- 
ter in  Charleston,  he  paid  short  visits-  to  Camden,  Co- 
lumbia, and  Hillsboro',  N.  C,  where  he  had  friends, 
and  wherever  he  went,  was  met  with  a  most  cordial 
welcome.     He  returned  to  his  residence  in  New  Jersey, 


^83 

in  May,  1851,  and  shortly  after,  as  appears  from  the 
following  letter  to  his  brother,  was  visited  with  a 
serious  illness. 

Retreat,  June  18,  1851. 
My  Dear  Brother  : 

Your  kind  letter  of  the  12th  inst.  came  by  the  mail  of  yes- 
terday. I  thank  you  for  it  and  will  attempt  a  brief  reply.  I 
wrote  you  not  long  since,  and  gave  you  a  full  account  of  the 
illness  with  which  our  Heavenly  Father  has  been  pleased  to 
visit  me.  I  then  expressed  the  hope  that  I  was  better  and 
was  slowly  gaining  strength  ;  and  I  venture  to  indulge  that 
hope  still,  though  my  cough  is  troublesome  and  I  continue 
very  weak.  The  weather  has  been  much  against  me.  It  is 
now  quite  dry,  and  rain  is  much  needed  ;  but  it  is  culd,  espe- 
ciall}''  in  the  mornings  and  evenings. 

The  Pluckemin  people  are  going  forward  with  some  spirit. 
They  have  commenced  their  church  edifice  on  a  lot  adjoining 
the  old  grave  yard.  They  build  there  to  avoid  covering  graves, 
and  a  threatened  law  suit      The  site  is  a  good  one. 

The  Lord  seems  disposed  to  keep  you  from  stagnating. 
And  for  your  general  good  health  you  owe  Him  much.  You 
have  indeed  a  heavy  task,  but  I  am  persuaded  that  few  others 
could  do  it  as  well  as  you,  and  I  rejoice  in  your  good  snccess. 
That  building  will  remain  after  your  work  on  earth  is  done, 
as  a  precious  monument  to  your  indefatigable  industry  and 
perseverance  in  the  best  of  causes.  May  a  kind  providence 
enable  you  to  complete  the  important  enterprise  ;  and  wlien 
finished,  may  God,  by  his  Spirit,  take  up  his  abode  there.  It 
is  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  that  alone,  that  can 
give  prosperity  to  a  church.  Oh  that  we  all  felt  this  more 
decpl}'  than  we  do.  We  greatl}'  need  an  unction  from  the 
Holy  One. 

As  soon  as  I  am  able,  I  wish  to  write  to  your  Presbytery 
and  give  some  account  of  myself     Although  not  now  within 


284 

their  bounds,  I  am  not  prepared  at  present  to  change  my 
Presbyterial  connection.  Should  my  health  be  restored,  I  do 
not  expect  to  spend  the  winter  here,  and  I  know  not  exactly 
where  I  may  be.  If  I  liave  strong-th  to  labour,  I  do  not  expect 
to  be  idle.  If  my  health  should  not  be  restored,  I  shall  not  be 
in  a  situation  to  join  any  otlier  body.  I  trust  m}^  good  bre- 
thren of  the  Presbytery  will  not  object  to  my  retaining  my 
present  connection,  until  I  can  see  more  clearly  what  God 
designs  for  me. 

Let  me  hear  from  you  soon  and  often,  and  believe  me 
Your  affectionate  brother, 

WILLIAM  A.  McDowell. 

Dr.  McDowell  continued  in  a  feeble  state  during  the 
summer,  ar.d  yet  he  was  able  to  preach  almost  every 
Sabbath,  and  his  voice  became  clearer  and  louder 
than  it  had  been  for  a  long  time  previous.  In  July,  he 
officiated  in  laying  the  corner-stone  of  the  church  at 
Pluckemin,  referred  to  in  the  preceding  letter,  and  felt 
the  deepest  interest  in  the  occasion.  About  the  first 
of  September,  he  went  to  Morristown,  with  a  view  to 
place  himself  under  the  care  of  his  former  physician, 
Dr.  Johnes,  in  whom  he  had  great  confidence.  Even 
then  he  was  not  so  ill  as  to  occasion  any  immediate 
alarm  ;  and  he  took  with  him  a  few  sermons  with  the 
expectation  that  he  might  be  able  to  preach  at  least  a 
part  of  the  time  during  his  absence.  Though  his  ill- 
ness had  been  of  long  continuance,  there  was  but  little 
immediate  warning  of    his    death.     He    was   himself 


■  285 

fully  aware  of  its  near  approach  ;  was  perfectly  calm 
and  self  possessed  in  the  prospect,  and  expressed  the 
full  assurance  of  hope.  The  night  before  he  died,  he 
was  much  engaged  in  prayer  for  the  Church,  and  for 
the  cause  of  Missions,  which  was  specially  dear  to 
his  heart.  His  strength  gradually  declined,  until  he 
died,  from  exhaustion,  on  the  l*7th  of  September,  1851. 
His  remains  were  removed  to  Lamington  for  burial, 
and  the  Sermon  on  occasion  of  his  Funeral  was  preach- 
ed by  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  W.  Blauvelt,  from  1  Timo- 
thy, I,  12. 

Mrs.  McDowell  still  survives,  with  one  son,  who  is  an 
Elder  in  the  Church,  and  a  highly  respectable  medical 
practitioner  in  New  Jersey. 


286 


CHAPTER   II. 

His  Character. 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  a  somewhat  intimate  acquaint- 
ance with  Dr.  McDowell,  having  first  been  introduced 
to  him  at  his  own  house  in  Charleston,  in  the  autumn 
of  1830,  and  having  had  frequent  opportunities  of 
intercourse  w^ith  him  from  about  the  commencement  of 
his  residence  in  Philadelphia  till  near  the  close  of  his 
life.  A  part  of  what  I  design  to  say  in  respect  to  his 
character,  in  connection  with  some  of  his  relations,  of 
course  comes  to  me  on  testimony;  but  I  shall  say  noth- 
ing but  what  is  in  full  keeping  with,  and  might  fairly  be 
inferred  from,  the  results  of  my  own  observation. 

Dr.  McDowell  was  eminently  favoured  in  respect  to 
the  original  elements  of  his  character.  He  had  a  fine, 
clear,  well-balanced  intellect,  which  had  not  only  been 
subjected  to  an  early  judicious  training,  but  was  kept 
under  careful  culture  in  connection  with  the  great  and 
diversified  labours  of  his  life.  His  moral  character 
was  marked  by  uncommon  amiableness  and  kindliness 


287 

of  spirit;  by  perfect  openness  and  transparency  ;  by  a 
modesty  that  did  not  aspire  to  high  places  5  by  an 
admirable  discretion  that  never  compromised  either 
dignity  or  consistency  ;  and  by  an  energy  of  purpose 
that  never  took  counsel  of  fear,  nor  faltered  in  the  most 
difficult  enterprises.  In  his  physical  qualities  he  was 
much  less  favoured  than  in  his  intellectual  or  moral ; 
for,  however  vigorous  his  bodily  constitution  may  have 
been  originally,  from  the  age  of  twelve  it  was  essen- 
tially and  irremediably  impaired.  He  was  of  a  slen- 
der form,  rather  below  the  medium  height,  and,  in  his 
latter  years  especially,  moved  about  with  an  air  of  fee- 
bleness. His  countenance  indicated  thoughtfulness, 
gentleness,  and  earnestness ;  and  his  utterances  ful- 
filled all  that  his  looks  foreshadowed.  His  manners 
formed  a  faithful  exponent  of  his  mind  and  heart. 
While  there  was  nothing  in  his  address  to  indicate 
either  sympathy  with,  or  adaptedness  to,  fashionable 
life,  there  was  a  freedom,  and  naturalness,  and  self-pos- 
session, that  showed  his  familiarity  with  good  society, 
and  made  his  presence,  in  every  circle,  an  element  of 
pleasure. 

Dr.  McDowell's  excellent  moral  qualities  were  all 
beautifully  and  thoroughly  recast  in  the  mould  of  a 
living    Christianity.     It  was  impossible    to  be  in  his 


288 

company,  even  for  a  short  time,  without  perceiving  that 
his  was  no  ordinary  type  of  Christian  character  ;  that 
faith,  and  patience,  and  hope,  and  humility,  and  grati- 
tude, and  all  the  graces,  had  reached  a  maturity  and 
elevation  in  him,  that  distinguished  him  from  most  of 
those  that  bear  the  Christian  name.  He  was  eminently 
a  devout  man.  The  prayers  that  I  have  heard  him 
offer  showed  that  he  was  at  home  in  his  closet,  — that 
there  was  no  atmosphere  which  he  breathed  so  freely 
as  that  which  surrounds  the  throne  of  grace.  His  reli- 
gion, while  it  was  founded  in  a  deep  conviction  of  the 
great  truths  of  the  Gospel,  diffused  itself,  by  an  all 
pervading  influence,  over  his  heart  and  life.  He  real- 
ized most  deeply  that  his  mission,  as  a  regenerate 
child  of  God,  was  to  do  good  ;  and  his  grand  object 
seemed  to  be  to  make  eveiy  faculty  he  possessed,  every 
relation  he  sustained,  tributary  to  the  well-being  of  his 
fellow-men  and  the  glory  of  his  Master.  And  over  all 
his  devout  exercises  and  manifestations,  and  all  his 
earnest  Christian  activity,  there  was  cast  an  air  of 
winning  cheerfulness,  which  delighted  everybody,  and 
lent  a  charm  to  Christianity,  even  in  the  eyes  of  those 
who  could  not  feel  its  more  spiritual  attractions. 

As  a  Preacher,  Dr.  McDowell  took  rank  among  the 
most  evangelical,   earnest,    effective  preachers  of  his 


289 

day.  His  voice  was  originally  clear  and  pleasant,  but 
in  his  later  years,  and,  if  m}'  memory  serves  me,  from 
the  time  that  I  first  heard  him  preach,  disease  had  so 
far  affected  his  vocal  organs  that  his  speaking  was 
difBcult  and  laboured — he  would,  however,  as  he  ad- 
vanced and  waxed  warm  in  his  sermon,  recover,  in  a 
good  degree,  the  command  of  his  voice,  and,  before  he 
was  at  the  end  of  it,  you  would  wonder  what  had  be- 
come of  the  hoarseness  with  which  he  started.  His 
manner  in  the  pulpit  was  simple,  dignified  and  com- 
manding. Without  the  least  approach  to  any  thing 
that  would  make  you  feel  that  he  was  trying  to  be  elo- 
quent, there  was  an  earnestness  in  his  looks  and 
utterances,  and  very  attitudes,  that  the  jnost  indifferent 
hearer  would  find  it  difficult  to  resist.  And  then  what 
he  said  was  in  full  harmony  with  his  manner  of  saying 
it — it  was  the  simple  truth  of  God's  word,  presented 
in  its  due  proportions,  and  its  legitimate  relations, 
without  any  admixture  of  splendid  rhetoric  or  profound 
disquisition.  His  sermons  Vv'ere  far  enough  from  being 
mere  religious  rhapsodies  or  exhortations — on  the  con- 
trary, they  were  full  of  evangelical  instruction,  clearly 
and  logically  presented ;  but  everything  that  he  said 
was   practical — no  doctrine  that  he  preaciied  was  so 

high  but  that  he  showed  its  personal  bearings  upon  the 
25 


290 

conscience  and  hearts  of  his  hearers — in  short,  all  his 
deliverances  in  the  pulpit  clearly  evinced  that  he  felt 
that  he  was  an  ambassador  of  God,  and  that  he  had 
nothing  to  do  but  to  proclaim  and  enforce  the  message 
vyhich  had  been  given  him. 

As  a  Pastor,  Dr.  McDowell  was  a  model  of  wisdom, 
affectionate  carefulness,  and  fidelity.  He  moved  about 
among  his  people  like  a  father  and  a  brother,  and 
nothing  that  in  any  way  involved  their  happiness  es- 
caped his  thoughtful  and  benevolent  regard.  To  the 
children  of  sorrow  he  was  a  very  Son  of  Consolation, 
endeavouring,  at  the  same  time,  to  render  their  aflflic- 
tions  a  ministration  of  spiritual  blessing.  The  way- 
ward and  the  dissolute  he  sought  to  reclaim  by  timely 
and  solemn  admonitions  ;  the  anxious  and  the  heavy- 
laden  he  urged  to  the  Cross  as  the  only  place  of  refuge 
and  of  rest ;  those  whom  he  saw  faltering  in  their 
Christian  course  he  endeavoured  to  stimulate  to  a 
higher  sense  of  duty  ;  and  the  steadfast  and  active  fol- 
lowers of  Christ  he  encouraged,  not  only  by  his  coun- 
sels but  by  his  example,  to  a  vigorous  co-operation  for 
the  advancement  of  the  Redeemer's  cause.  Persons  of 
every  age  and  every  description,  not  excepting  even 
those  who  were  far  from  righteousness,  respected, 
honoured  and  loved  him. 


291 

In  each  of  the  congregations  to  which  he  ministered, 
especially  the  two  last,  there  were  very  marked  results 
from  his  ministr}'^ — not  a  small  number,  both  at  Morris- 
town  and  at  Charleston,  were  hopefully  converted 
through  his  instrumentality;  and  the  church,  in  each 
place,  acquired  increased  stability  and  efficiency  under 
his  pastorate.  But  his  greatest  usefulness,  after  all, 
was  undoubtedly  in  connection  Avith  his  position  as 
Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Domestic  Mis- 
sions. For  this  office  he  Avas  remarkably  qualified,  not 
only  by  his  great  practical  wisdom  and  good  judgment, 
but  by  his  rare  executive  ability,  his  familiarity  with 
the  forms  of  business,  and  his  unusual  tact  in  accommo- 
dating himself  to  men  of  every  variety  of  taste  and 
character.  In  all  his  personal  and  official  relations  with 
his  brethren,  with  whom  he  was  thus  more  immediately 
associated,  he  was  most  considerate  and  obliging  ;  and 
most  highly  did  they  value  his  counsels  and  his  sympa- 
thy. The  best  comment  upon  his  ability  and  fidelity  in 
conducting  this  important  agency  is  the  signal  success 
by  which  his  labours  were  attended.  Upon  his  accession 
to  the  office,  the  condition  of  the  Board  was  greatly 
depressed,  and  it  was  deeply  felt  that  some  energetic 
hand  was  needed  to  infuse  into  it  new  vigour,  and  to 
enlarge  the  field  of  its  operations.     Dr.  McDowell  went 


292 

quietly  to  work  in  his  new  vocation,  and  it  quickly 
became  manifest  that  the  Church  had  judged  rightly  in 
assigning  to  him  this  important  place.  Each  successive 
year  witnessed  to  a  greatly  increased  interest  in  the 
cause  of  Domestic  Missions,  until  the  Church  at  large 
became  in  a  good  degree  awake  to  its  importance.  He 
had  the  satisfaction,  during  the  seventeen  years  that  he 
was  connected  with  the  Board,  of  seeing  its  receipts  in- 
creased from  25,000  to  nearly  80,000  dollars ;  and  the 
number  of  ministers  and  missionaries  from  209  to  570; 
and  the  Church  extended  widely  over  our  country, 
and  from  30  to  40,000  souls  hopefully  converted 
through  the  instrumentality  of  this  Board.  He  la- 
boured in  this  cause  with  a  zeal  and  perseverance  to 
which  it  would  not  be  easy  to  fix  the  limit ;  and,  though 
others  have  entered  into  his  labours,  and  others  still 
will  follow  in  an  indefinite  succession,  it  will  always  be 
true  that  he  was  among  those  who  have  had  a  primary 
influence  in  extending  the  borders  of  our  Church,  and 
bringing  under  Christian  culture  regions  that  seemed 
destined  to  perpetual  barrenness. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  that,  in  all  his  private 
and  domestic  relations,  Dr.  McDowell  was  most  exem- 
plary and  attractive.  What  he  was  as  a  husband  and 
a  father, — how  tender,  and  wise,  and  faithful,  is  writ- 


293 

ten  deep  in  the  remembrance  and  sensibilities  of  those 
to  whom  he  sustained  these  endearing  relations.  What 
he  was  as  a  friend, — how  true,  and  generous,  and  self- 
sacrificing,  is  attested  by  the  gratitude  and  reverence 
with  which  multitudes  still  pronounce  his  name. 
Every  community  in  which  he  has  lived  has  loved  to 
do  him  honour ;  but  the  most  delightful  reflection  con- 
cerning him  is,  that,  though  his  name  should  fade  from 
every  earthly  record,  it  is  indelibly  engraven  in  the 
register  of  the  saved  and  the  glorified  ;  even  of  those 
who,  having  turned  many  to  righteousness,  shall  shine 
as  the  stars  forever  and  even 


*25 


294 


CHAPTER  III. 

Commemorative  Letters. 

I. 

Elizabethtown,  March  27,  1864. 

My  Dear  Brother  : 

I  love  the  memory  of  Dr.  W.  A.  McDowell  too  well, 
and  have  too  high  an  appreciation  of  his  worth,  intel- 
lectual and  moral,  not  to  respond  to  your  request  for 
some  of  my  recollections  of  h'n  character.  My  only 
regret  is  that  I  have  not  the  leisure,  or  the  health  just 
now,  to  do  fuller  justice  to  the  subject. 

Dr.  McDow^ell  entered  upon  the  ministry  of  the  Gos- 
pel while  I  was  preparing  for  it,  and,  as  he  often 
preached  for  his  brother  in  Elizabethtown,  where  I  was 
born  and  brought  up,  1  heard  some  of  his  first  sermons. 
My  acquaintance  with  him  commenced  then,  and  it 
continued,  with  great  pleasure  and  profit  to  myself,  as 
long  as  he  lived.  It  does  me  uood,  at  this  late  day,  to 
think  of  him  as  a  dear  friend.  There  was  no  difficulty 
in  knowing  him  well,  for  if  he  did  not  carry  his  heart 
on  the  outside,  to  be  gazed  at,  and  commented  on,  by 
ever}'  passer  by,  he  never  carried  a  false  heart,  at  any 
stage  of  his  life.     I  never  met  a  man  more  perfectly 


295 

free  from  pretence  and  assumption  of  every  sort.  Trans- 
parency in  whatever  he  said  or  did  was  one  of  the 
prime  excellences  of  his  character,  so  prominent  as 
easily  to  be  seen  and  read  of  all  with  whom  he  came 
into  contact.  Making  it  his  grand  aim  to  be  right,  he 
could  not  practise  dissimulation,  or  look  one  way  while 
he  was  moving  another. 

Often  did  it  seem  to  me  a  pity  that  so  good  and  large 
a  mind  was  put  into  so  frail  a  body.  The  casket  was 
not  at  all  worthy  of  the  priceless  gem  which  it  con- 
tained. A  disease  that  overtook  hira  in  early  youth, 
left  an  impress  of  weakness  upon  his  whole  physical 
frame,  which  no  change  of  scene,  or  climate,  or  labour 
could  remove  ;  and  eventually  it  hastened  his  depar- 
ture from  the  world.  His  whole  life  was  one  long 
battle  with  debility,  giving  him  the  stoop  of  age  while 
young,  and  leading  him  to  preach  as  if  he  had  "  the 
sentence  of  death  in  himself."  How  often  has  my  heart 
ached  to  mark  with  what  feeble  steps  he  ascended  the 
pulpit  stairs.  No  wonder  that  he  preached  as  a  dying 
man  to  dying  men.  A  sermon  which  he  delivered  at 
that  early  period,  on  the  words  of  Job, — "  I  would  not 
live  alway,"  and  of  which  I  have  a  very  vivid  remem- 
brance, at  the  distance  of  half  a  century,  seemed  to  me 
as  much  like  one's  last  utterances  as  could  possibly  be. 


296 

No  doubt  the  state  of  his  health  had  a  great  deal  to  do 
with  his  choice  of  texts,  and  his  mode  of  treating  them. 
Yet  it  Avonid  be  a  great  mistake  to  conclude  that  he 
was  an  unattractive  preacher,  repelling  the  youthful 
and  the  buoyant,  like  the  appearance  of  a  death's  head. 
The  very  opposite  was  the  fact.  There  was  such  an 
air  of  cheerfulness  overspreading  his  solemnity,  and  so 
much  of  hope  and  joy  connected  with  his  deep  lookings 
into  eternity,  that  he  seldom  failed  to  attract  the  feel- 
ings, and  win  the  sympathy  of  his  hearers.  He  excelled 
in  earnestness  and  unction.  These  qualities  were  ap- 
parent to  every  listener,  and  they  rendered  his  minis- 
trations unusually  impressive.  I  never  wondered  that 
he  was  loved  and  respected  at  Bound  Brook,  the  first 
field  of  his  labours  ;  nor  that  he  was  still  more  highly 
valued  at  Morristown,  where  he  remained  for  a  longer 
period  ;  nor  that  he  reached  a  still  loftier  eminence  at 
Charleston,  where  he  took  rank  with  the  most  honoured 
and  useful  ministers  of  the  whole  region.  Here  it  was 
thought  he  had  attained  to  the  acme  of  his  influence 
and  power.  God  blessed  his  labours  in  that  city  with 
two  precious  revivals  of  religion.  On  many  accounts, 
this  seemed  to  be  the  spot,  where  his  talents  could  be 
excited  to  the  very  best  advantage,  as  well  in  the  city 


297 

itself  as  throughout  the  entire  South.    But  his  strength 
was  unequal  to  the  great  work  before  him. 

His  last  service  for  the  Church  of  God  was  that  of 
Secretary  of  the  Assembly's  Board  of  Domestic  Mis- 
sions, requiring  a  happy  combination  of  talents  not 
very  frequently  found.  For  reasons  which  need  not 
here  be  enumerated,  the  juncture  in  the  affairs  of  that 
institution  was  a  very  serious  one.  But  worn  as  Dr. 
McDowell  had  been  with  other  labours,  he  brought  to 
this  difficult  and  important  post  an  amount  of  zeal,  and 
tact,  and  kindheartedness,  and  far-seeing  prudence,  in 
the  office  and  out  of  it,  corresponding  with  missionaries 
and  addressing  churches,  which  has  seldom  been  sur- 
passed. Hundreds  can  bear  record  that,  "  to  his  power, 
yea  and  beyond  his  power,"  he  devoted  himself  to  the 
great  enterprise.  But  his  frail  constitution  at  length 
gave  way.  His  hearing  failed  to  such  a  degree  that  he 
could  scarcely  distinguish  the  tones  of  his  own  voice, 
and  his  organs  of  articulation  seemed  to  have  utterly 
exhausted  their  power.  Bear  up  for  a  long  time  he 
did  with  indomitable  resolution.  It  was  affecting  to 
witness  such  a  mastery  of  mind  over  matter,  and  he  was 
often  heard  with  all  the  more  interest  because  of  the 
victory  we  saw  him  gain  over  the  infirmities  of  nature. 


298 

To  give  np  as  one  who  could  work  no  longer  was  his 
severest  trial.  Had  he  only  been  blessed  with  robust 
health,  and  with  lungs  and  voice  of  ordinary  capacity, 
he  would  have  stood  fully  abreast  with  the  most  useful 
men  our  Church  has  produced. 

As  a  companion,  whether  under  his  own  hospitable 
roof,  or  in  the  houses  of  his  friends,  he  was  all  that  the 
purest  and  most  elevated  friendship  could  desire.  I 
am  not  alone  in  the  opinion  that  his  conversational 
powers  were  remarkable,  and  though  he  could  tell  a 
good  story,  and  raise  a  hearty  laugh,  and  laugh  loudly 
himself,  there  was  in  it  all  so  charming  a  modesty,  and 
60  thoughtful  a  regard  to  the  feelings  of  others  that 
there  seemed  no  room  for  any  thing  but  innocent  enjoy- 
ment. If  the  interview  lasted  until  midnight,  nothing 
was  said  on  his  part,  to  render  the  bed  uneasy,  or  plant 
thorns  in  the  pillow.  I  must  affirm  I  never  heard  him 
make  a  single  censorious  remark.  You  could  not  but 
feel  well  repaid  for  the  loss  of  a  little  sleep,  in  the  re- 
collection of  the  pleasant  converse  you  had  enjoyed 
with  one  so  guileless  and  at  the  saiije  time  so  lively,  so 
fond  of  talk  and  yet  talking  so  well.  How  sweetly 
does  the  memory  of  his  face  and  his  smiles  steal  over 
the  minds  of  his  many  friends,  to  this  day !  Where 
can  be  found  a  larger  share  of  fraternal  kindness,  ten- 


299 

der  affection,  and  genuine  amiability,  all  underlaid  by 
a  depth  of  Christian  principle  and  feeling  which  every 
body  acknowledged  ?  I  do  not  go  too  far  when  I  say 
he  was  like  "  the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved." 

The  time  now  came  when  he  had  to  withdraw  from 
public  work  altogether,  and  he  did  it  with  the  grace 
and  goodliness  of  Him  who  said  "  He  must  increase  but 
I  must  decrease."  His  last  days  were  spent  on  a  beau- 
tiful little  farm,  which  he  had  prepared  as  a  retreat 
from  cares  and  toils  which  he  could  no  longer  bear  ; 
almost  in  sight  of  the  spot  where  he  first  opened  his 
eyes  upon  the  light  of  life,  and  in  the  midst  of  friends 
and  neighbours  who  had  loved  him  from  his  childhood. 
Death  overtook  him  somev/hat  suddenly,  but  his  loins 
were  girded  and  his  lamp  was  burning. 

Among  my  many  dear  friends,  gone  to  a  better 
world,  there  are  few  whose  memory  I  cherish  with  a 
warmer  affection,  or  whose  excellences  I  should  more 
love  to  portray.  R  is  a  delightful  thought  that  Heaven 
is  rapidly  filling  up  with  such  people.  May  we  be  ready 
to  join  them! 

Very  truly  and  affectionately  yours, 

DAVID   MAGIE. 


300 

11. 
From  the  Rev.  H.  A.  Boardman,  D.  D. 

Philadelphia,  Jlpril  28,   1864. 
Rev.  and  Dear  Sir  : 

You  ask  me  for  any  recollections  that  may  occur  to 
me  respecting  the  late  Dr.  William  A.  McDowell.  I 
am  sorry  that  it  is  out  of  my  power  to  send  you  the 
sort  of  letter  which  such  a  request  is  understood  to 
imply.  For  eventful  incidents  and  occasions  in  his 
experience,  you  will  have  to  look  to  other  sources.  I 
can  only  say  that  his  name  is  cherished  in  our  city  as 
that  of  a  man  fully  devoted  to  his  Master's  service.  The 
office  he  filled  of  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Domestic  Mis- 
sions of  our  Church  is  one  of  equal  delicacy  and  re- 
sponsibility. To  the  discharge  of  its  duties  he  brought 
a  vigorous  and  well  furnished  mind,  a  singularly  equa- 
ble temper,  a  heart  full  of  kindly  sympathies,  a  sound 
judgment,  most  affable  manners,  the  various  culture 
supplied  by  a  ripe  pastoral  experience,  and  the  pervad- 
ing presence  and  power  of  an  earnest  piety.  No  one 
could  be  with  him  without  perceiving  that  his  maxim 
was  "  This  one  thing  I  do."  He  had  taken  the  gauge 
of  his  great  work,  and  made  up  his  mind  that  by  no 
rashness  nor  negligence  on  his  part  should  it  ever  be 
put  in  peril.     It  was  no  mere  official  tie  which  bound 


301 

him  to  our  excellent  missionaries  in  the  field.  He  was 
one  with  them  in  purpose  and  sympathy.  Their  trials 
were  his  trials.  Their,  triumphs  were  his  triumphs. 
In  their  perplexities  they  found  him  a  prudent  counsel- 
lor. When  their  feelings  had  been  wounded  or  irri- 
tated, he  knew  how  to  soothe  them.  When  cases  of 
peculiar  distress  occurred,  he  was  prompt  in  seeking 
and  sending  the  needful  relief.  In  the  pulpit  and  be- 
fore the  Courts  of  the  Church,  he  plead  the  cause  of 
Home  Missions  with  marked  ability  and  with  eminent 
success.  And  his  abundant  labours  in  conducting  this 
great  interest  entitle  him  to  a  place  among  those  faith- 
ful men  whom  the  Church  holds  in  grateful  and  lasting 
remembrance. 

I  might  speak  of  Dr.  McDowell's  fine  social  qualities 
of  his  freedom  from  all  acerbity  and  censoriousness  ;  ox 
the  warmth  of  his  friendly  greetings;  of  the  kindly 
sympathy  with  which  he  would  enter  into  whatever 
concerned  you ;  and  of  that  most  obliging  disposition 
which  made  him  so  ready  to  do  you  a  good  turn  to-day 
and  another  to-morrow,  and  so  on  as  long  and  as  often 
as  your  necessities  required. 

But  I  am  too  much  pressed  for  time  at  this  moment 

to  dwell  upon  these  pleasant  topics,  and  I  must  either 

decline  your  request  altogether,  or  send  you  this  hur 
26 


302 

ried  note, — a  very  scant  and  imperfect  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  a  valued  personal  friend  and  a  faithful  am- 
bassador for  Christ. 

I  remain,  my  dear  Sir,  with  sincere  respect  and  affec- 
tion, your  friend  and  brother, 

HENRY  A.  BOARDMAN. 


III. 

From  the  Rev,  John  Maclean,  D.  D., 
President  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey. 

College  of  New  Jersey,  ? 

Princeton,  May  bth,  18G4.  ) 

My  Dear  Sir  : 

At  the  time  I  received  your  favour  of  the  25th  ult., 
I  was  suffering  from  a  severe  inflammation  of  my  right 
eye,  which  prevented  a  prompt  compliance  with  your 
request  in  regard  to  my  much  esteemed  friends,  the  late 
Eev.  Drs.  John  and  "Wm.  A.  McDowell.  And  even  now 
I  am  scarcely  able  to  do  more  than  to  give  very  brief 
replies  to  the  letters  which  I  am  daily  receiving;  yet, 
in  the  present  instance,  as  the  case  admits  of  no  delay, 
I  must  venture  somewhat ;  and  add  my  testimony  to 
the  worth  of  these  two  excellent  men  and  faithful  ser- 
vants of  Christ.  I  knew  them  both  from  my  early  life, 
but  was  more  intimate  with  the  younger  brother,  who. 


303 

when  I  was  a  lad,  and  he  a  Tutor  in  the  College,  was 
wont  to  visit  at  my  father's  house,  and  whose  friend- 
ship for  our  family  continued  throughout  his  life.  Dr. 
John  McDowell,  the  elder  of  the  two  brothers,  I  knew 
first  as  the  Pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church  of 
Elizabethtown,  N.  J.,  and  as  a  Trustee  of  this  College  ; 
always  faithful  to  his  ofl&cial  trusts,  and  successful  in 
his  efibrts  to  promote  the  cause  of  piety  and  learning, 
and  in  one  respect  surpassing  any  Pastor  of  my 
acquaintance — I  refer  to  his  constantly  directing  the 
attention  of  the  pious  and  promising  youth  of  his 
church  to  the  importance  of  the  Christian  Ministry, 
and  to  their  own  obligations  in  reference  to  it.  Few 
men  were  ever  more  blessed  in  their  labours,  and  few  so 
worthy  of  imitation  by  those  who  desire  to  be  faithful 
and  successful  in  winning  souls  to  Christ.  He  was  a 
sincere  man  and  a  true  friend. 

Dr.  Wm.  A.  McDowell  was  a  favourite  pupil  of  my 
father,  who,  for  many  years,  was  Professor  of  Mathe- 
matics and  Natural  Philosophy  in  this  College,  and  its 
first  teacher  of  Chemistry.  During  apart  of  the  sum- 
mer term  of  1812,  he  supplied  my  father's  place  in  the 
College  as  teacher  of  Mathematics,  and  sustained  him- 
self well.  In  the  autumn  of  that  year,  if  I  err  not,  he 
entered  the  Theological  Seminary  of  Princeton,  which 


304 

had  been  recently  established,  the  only  Professor  being 
the  late  venerable  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander. 

At  that  time  there  being  no  buildings  erected  for  the 
Seminary,  its  students  were  permitted,  if  they  desired 
it,  to  lodge  in  the  College  buildings,  and  to  use  the 
recitation  rooms  of  the  College  at  such  hours  as  they 
were  not  wanted  for  College  purposes.  This  led  to  a 
great  intimacy  between  the  students  of  the  two  insti- 
tutions, and  to  a  co-operation  in  their  benevolent 
efforts.  In  these.  Dr.  (then  Mr.,)  W.  A.  McDowell, 
took  an  active  part,  and  at  the  formation  of  the  Nas- 
sau Hall  Bible  Society,  he  was  chosen  its  first  Presi- 
dent, and  wrote  an  Address  setting  forth  the  object  for 
which  it  was  established.  The  Address  was  published 
with  a  copy  of  the  Constitution,  as  then  adopted,  and 
it  was  probably  the  first  article  from  his  pen  that  ever 
appeared  in  print.  This  was  three  years  before  the 
founding  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  at  the  forma- 
tion of  which,  delegates  were  present  from  the  Nassau 
Hall  Bible  Society.  Those  familiar  with  the  history 
of  the  Bible  agencies  in  our  country  know  the  import- 
ant services  rendered  by  the  Nassau  Hall  Society  in 
the  first  efforts  made  to  supply  every  destitute  family 
in  the  State  of  New  Jersey  with  a  copy  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures. 


305 

In  1817,  Dr.  McDowell  was  chosen  a  Trustee  of  this 
College.  In  182-1  he  resigned  his  seat  at  the  Board, 
and  was  elected  again  the  following  year. 

Dr.  McDowell  was  a  man  of  no  ordinary  ability.  He 
was  a  good  scholar,  and  an  instructive  preacher. 
Pious,  active,  cheerful,  he  was  a  most  agreeable  com- 
panion, and  an  exemplary  Christian  minister.  I  might 
say  more  —  I  could  not  say  less. 

With  the  highest  respect  and  esteem,  Yours, 

JOHN  MACLEAN. 


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